


stay alive (that would be enough)

by gaypanic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU magic, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BUT THERE'S ALSO FLUFF oKAY, Character Death, Cheating, Divorce, F/F, Hamilton References, Hamilton the musical fusion, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Inspired by Hamilton, Mentions of terminal illness, POV Multiple, Social Media, Unrequited Love, magic baby, politics (kind of), there are lots of realms and magic but this is AU basically, triplet!regina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:53:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 62,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15689514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypanic/pseuds/gaypanic
Summary: Storybrooke is on the verge of war with the Enchanted Forest, struggling to earn their freedom, and Emma Swan doesn’t plan to go down without a fight. Despite being new in town, she starts making connections and building relationships. From the Twitter famous Killian Jones to the Mills triplets, she finds her place in this budding town.She’s not throwing away her shot.[inspired by hamilton the musical]





	1. just you wait

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KennedyMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennedyMorgan/gifts), [parrillayeah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/parrillayeah/gifts), [Danymaia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danymaia/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Stay Alive (Art)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15808563) by [KennedyMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennedyMorgan/pseuds/KennedyMorgan). 



> as i said, this is inspired by hamilton feels so if you know anything about hamilton, you probably know what to expect, and if you don't, that's okay. you don't need to have seen it/listened to it/ or have read about it. 
> 
> this is pretty angsty but i hope you'll give it a chance! i changed up the end, so i hope you like what i did with it, as well as the rest of the fic. **(but seriously for those of you too scared of my angst and too scared of tragedy, i want you to know that this fic has a little something called magic in it and i took advantage of that sooooo you're welcome)**
> 
> some relationship notes: milah is not neal's mother but rumple is his father, malcolm and fiona are not rumple's parents, mm and david are not emma's parents, liam and killian aren't brothers, and idk who zelena's father is but she's considered to be henry's even if not biologically. as far as the triplets go, rayna (basically the EQ but not literally) is the oldest triplet, roni is the middle and regina is the youngest. they are all individual characters and never are/have been the same people. there are other ships represented in this fic but for various reasons, i've decided against listing them. killian and emma are never involved.
> 
> and FINALLY, some big thank you's to: nicole for supporting this idea from the very beginning, danny for always being here for me always, jan for cheering me on, laura for beta-ing, hermione for helping me with the summary, anna for your support, kennedy for your beautiful art. and the sqsn mods for making all of this possible.
> 
> I HAVE TO ALSO GIVE A DOUBLE MAJOR SHOUTOUT to my INCREDIBLE ARTIST. if you haven't seen kennedy's art yet, please go do it right now. you can find it [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15808563)

**(narrator)**

_ Emma had never been familiar with realm jumping. From her home in the Land of Untold Stories, very few people had the opportunity to leave, and when anyone _ did,  _ they never came back to discuss the experience. Her life had never been anything other than difficult, constantly pushed back and forgotten, moved from home to home, never knowing her family, but she had always been hard-headed and stubborn, determined to find a world better than this one and use her abilities to make untold stories known, to fight for her own story. _

_ In a world full of underdogs, Emma Swan found her way. _

_ There were a million things she hadn’t done, and she couldn’t do them all if she was trapped here, with her story being pushed to the bottom of the pile, squashed into nonexistence. _

_ She’d thought the day her magic appeared would change things.  _

_ There had been some stupid bully knocking her to the ground, and when she regained her footing, she shoved him just enough to get him away, but he’d gone too far, too fast, and when she looked down at her hands, surrounded by tiny wisps of white, she’d wasted no time in running. _

_ It hadn’t made any difference, really. She was never recognized for her existence or her magic, and that was just the way it was until it occurred to her that it didn’t  _ have  _ to be.  _

_ Emma had been taken in by a woman named Cleo, and it was the moment she believed everything was gonna shift. It did shift, but not necessarily in a good way. _

_ Cleo was attacked, and Emma found her one night, bleeding out with no help, and there was nothing she could do. The woman, the closest person Emma’s ever had to a mother, died in her arms, and after it happened, it was like no one remembered Cleo. Had she died for nothing? Would her story ever be told? _

_ It was that thought that sparked the flame in Emma to move from her realm. To leave the Land of Untold Stories and make the most of what she had in order to be somebody in a world that mattered. _

_ There’d been stories of realm jumping, but very few from her homeland were ever successful. It was too hard to create a portal precise enough to reach between any realm and the Land of Untold Stories, especially if the other realm was Storybrooke-- in the place formerly known as the Land Without Magic.  _

_ Of course, that’s exactly where Emma Swan wanted to go. _

Just you wait.


	2. the story of tonight

**(emma)**

Her first travel to another realm is through a portal she found herself -- a creaky door carved into a stump in the ground -- and the sketchy look of it almost makes her change her mind entirely, but she knows her destination is exactly where she needs to be so she closes her eyes and climbs in, gasping when she feels the pull of magic float over her skin as it changes surroundings outside of the trunk. When the dizziness subsides and the sensation still tingles in her fingertips, she knows that she’s made it, magic and all.

Storybrooke appears to be relatively pleasant. It’s everything Emma expected it to be, based on what she’d read about it, and once she’s there, even surrounded by strange faces, she doesn’t let anything about this new realm intimidate her.

She tries, anyway.

It’s a little weird because she knows about a lot of people, but has never really talked to them. She knows enough about the realm to fit into it, but not enough to be a  _ standard _ citizen, whatever that means. She gets an apartment, and even though it’s a  _ loft _ and she has a stranger as a roommate, she’s sure it’s better than nothing. She gets a cell phone because  _ everyone _ has one, buys a snazzy red leather jacket and Twitter as @lionswan and it helps her feel a little more in place.

Her life in Storybrooke isn’t eventful, but she’s not gonna throw away her shot.

She goes out as much as she can, applying for jobs, becoming a part of the community, making herself a part of the town, and hoping it’s gonna pay off. One day she’s walking down the street, coming from McDonald’s of all places, when she nearly runs into a familiar face that doesn’t give her the time of day until Emma loses her cool.

“Oh my god!” The man stops and turns to her, expression alarmed. “Sorry, it’s just…” Emma feels like a fangirl, trying to keep her composure in front of this man that’s basically Twitter famous in Storybrooke, which is honestly something she never thought she’d care about. He’s just a normal guy, and she doesn’t even really  _ like _ him, but befriending him would no doubt help Emma out in the long run. “You’re Killian Jones?”

He shrugs amiably. “Are you going to squeal if I say yes? Because if you are…”

Emma snorts, “No way. No. Absolutely not.” At a raised eyebrow, she launches into a ramble that could only be described as either awkward or painful, depending on who’s asking. “Look, I’m gay, okay? So I don't care… like that. But I’m new here, and I’ve been trying to get involved more. I’ve seen enough of your tweets to know that you’re the person to talk to if I really wanna help make this place everything it could be, you know?”

Killian looks somewhere between amused, annoyed, and flattered, but he gives her a polite smile nonetheless. “New to town or new to the realm?”

“Both,” Emma says with a wide grin. “I’m from the Land of Untold Stories, so it was a time getting here, let me tell you. I mean, I won’t get into it because I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but I’ve been working to make it here, doing lots of research and stuff, you know? I want to make a difference, but it’s hard to be taken seriously when I’m from a realm no one seems to have heard of.” Emma catches herself then, slowing to take a breath. Killian doesn’t say anything. “Anyway, you went to school here, right? Should I do the same? How’d you manage a job? I haven’t had any luck so far with anything. My resume is nonexistent,” she laughs

“Knowing the right people has its perks.”

Emma nods slowly, “Right. So… your parents?”

“Dead.”

It’s highly inappropriate, but Emma finds herself grinning, overjoyed at the common ground. Connection goes a long way, not to mention, it puts them more on the same level, which can only mean good things for Emma’s future. Killian’s eyes widen, but she jumps in with an explanation before he can get too offended. “Same! Well, maybe not  _ exactly _ . I never knew my parents at all, but still… we’re both orphans! Not that that’s  _ good _ , but I mean, if you can make it, I know I can find a way.”

By the time Emma’s made her point, she’s grinning ear to ear, and Killian has a smile on his face that’s more a gesture of courtesy than anything, but it doesn’t faze the blonde. “Alright,” Killian says after a beat of silence. “Come with me.”

“Where?” Emma asks, gliding behind him down the street.

She gets her answer when they arrive outside a bar, a hole-in-the-wall kind of dive, and she follows him in with hesitation, blinking in surprise when his drink is ordered before he’s even sat down, and he turns back to her with an expectant look. “Order what you want. It’s on me.”

“Um, whatever he’s having?” Emma says, not wanting to overstep her bounds. She watches the bartender nod once and get to work as she and Killian sit together in silence. Emma shifts a little, waiting for him to say anything else, but he remains quiet. The drinks are set in front of them and Emma takes a sip, shifting in the still silent space between them. The bar itself is anything but quiet, but Killian’s lack of conversation affects the atmosphere between them, so Emma speaks again. “So…”

“Let me give you some advice.”

“Uh, okay,” Emma chuckles nervously.

“Talk less.” Emma blinks in surprise. His voice comes off abrasive, and she doesn’t know what to say to his apparent call-out. She’s evidently relieved when he breaks out into a grin. “Smile more.”

“I don’t understand,” Emma comments with another nervous laugh.

Killian gestures around the bar as if by explanation, but as Emma looks around, she can’t see anything that doesn’t appeal to her. There’s a few groups all around, most of them looking either extremely happy or at peace with the people around them. This is very clearly the perfect place to unwind, and if she’d known about it before, she definitely would have made a point to come inside.

She glances back at Killian who raises his eyebrows as he finishes his drink and slides the empty glass back across the bar, declining a second. “It’s not smart to say everything you want to say.”

Emma wants to tell him exactly what she thinks about that, against her better judgement of course, but before she can, someone speaks from beside her. It’s not  _ to _ her, but she startles nonetheless. “Hey, can I get another one?”

“Sam Adams, right?” the bartender asks him.

“Yep!” the man replies, and Emma turns to see who the voice belongs to. He glances to her around the same time. “Hey, you look familiar.”

“I’m new here, so you probably don’t--”

“Twitter! You follow me on Twitter,” the man says, much to Emma’s embarrassment. 

“Oh, uh--”

“Don’t worry, I followed you back,” he reassures her with a laugh before introducing himself. “I’m Neal. You seem pretty cool, but uh, you need a better taste in drinks,” he tells her with a pointed nod. 

Emma glances down at the drink Killian bought her. “Sure, but you know, Blue Moon is better than Sam Adams.” Neal immediately grips his chest like he’s in pain, and Emma can’t help but snort.

“Craft is better than both, if you knew anything about beer,” someone says from behind them. “But really, liquor’s the way to go. Though, not that bottom shelf rum you’re probably drinking.” Emma turns to meet the half amused, half cocky gaze of a woman, her hair dark and curly, her toned arms flexing as she rests her hands on the back of their chairs. Her head jerks up into a nod before she introduces herself. “Roni. Don’t mind Neal, he’s obnoxious at the best of times.”

“Hey!”

“Good in a fight though. So you said you were new here? Where from?”

“Yeah, only for a few weeks or so. From the Land of Untold Stories.” Roni’s eyebrows raise. “Yeah it was quite the trip getting here, but I wanted to make a difference so I found a way,” Emma explains with a proud grin. 

“The Land of Untold Stories…” Roni slowly repeats after her, as if saying it outloud for the first time. It’s something Emma’s gotten used to since moving to Storybrooke-- no one knowing anything about her home.  _ Go figure _ , she thinks.

“Yeah, it’s pretty much nowhere,” Emma waves dismissively. “It’s a chaotic mess at the best of times, and at the worst… Well, it’s about the same then, too. No one really matters there, you know? Just going from point A to point B until it’s over,” she shrugs, dismissing the way Roni frowns at Emma as if deciphering a coded message.

“Wait, are you talking about Asphodel?” Emma pauses, unsure. “Sorry for the assumption. I know Asphodel doesn’t have the best reputation…”

The blonde’s response is a frown similar to the one Roni had been sporting previously. The name sounds familiar, and she remembers reading it in a book from Storybrooke’s library and thinking it was a realm that reminded her of home. “Maybe, but we never called it that.”

“I’ll admit, I don’t know much about it. Aren’t most people there, like… dead?”

Emma laughs, “If by  _ dead _ you mean washed up and boring then yeah, pretty much. They don’t have a lot of portal opportunities. Or opportunities at all for that matter,” she mumbles. “That’s why I’m here.” 

The other woman’s expression shifts into a smile. “Well, we could use someone with your spirit. I’m new here too, though I’ve been around longer. From Hyperion Heights. Not as big a journey as you, but still. Thought I could help them better by starting out over here, since there’s an ongoing alliance. Plus, family ties,” she dismisses with a shrug.

Emma’s curious, but she doesn’t push the issue, and instead turns to Neal with a nod, “What’s your story?” 

“Oh, you don’t wanna hear  _ his  _ story,” a third voice says as another woman appears next to Roni, taller with a streak of red through her hair. “Mine’s better,” she winks.

“ _ Better _ , maybe, but not nearly as interesting,” Roni points out. “Emma, this is Ruby. She’s worse than Neal.”

“I resent that.” Ruby says with mock offense before turning to Emma, grinning wide. “So I’ve lived here forever, and my grandmother runs Granny’s Diner. I work there with her when I’m not doing the important stuff like… oh, I don’t know. Fighting Neal’s father.”

“His  _ father _ ?”

“Rumpelstiltskin,” Roni casually offers, but Emma’s eyes bug out at this new information while Neal’s roll.

“Yeah, I know. New King of the Enchanted Forest or whatever, the guy trying to stop us from getting independence from whatever realm unity bullshit they’ve got going. It’s honestly ridiculous though. America has its own government system anyway, and so do all the other realms he’s trying to claim ownership of. I assume you know all about it already if you researched before moving here…”

“Yeah, of course,” Emma confirms. “So, if he’s your father, how… why-”

“Magic corrupted him. Not only did he become a horrible man and a terrible leader, he also became a bad father. I didn’t like the way things were going, so I tried to find my way here, to this realm. At the time, it was called The Land Without Magic. That’s why he wouldn’t come with me. He wouldn’t even consider giving up his power.”

Emma feels her own magic buzzing just under the surface, and it makes her suddenly nervous. She’s all for regulating magic and taking away dark magic, but she knows that some people are put off by all of it. Neal could be one of those people if he’d come here when there wasn’t magic before  _ because  _ there was no magic. She hopes this isn’t a dealbreaker. “Do you hate magic?” Emma asks in a wary voice.

“Hate’s a strong word, you know… it has it’s benefits, especially if it’s light magic, but it should be regulated.” 

“And our own to regulate,” Emma adds with a nod, relieved that they agree. 

“Yeah, rather than my father’s. Not that he  _ would _ regulate anything. He thinks it should be unrestrained.”

“Yeah and we know how well that turns out,” Roni snorts. “All of us are better off without him calling the shots. You’re on our side, right?” Her eyes shift to Killian on Emma’s other side, turned to watch the exchange with skepticism.

“Emma…” Killian starts, but he doesn’t get any further before the blonde is nodding at her new friends and turning to give the other man a firm look.

“I’m not gonna lie, Killian.”

“Remember what I said.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle the talking. I’m sure you can smile plenty for the both of us.” Killian’s lips twitch into a frown as the other three fight back laughter. He doesn’t look like he’s going to say anything else, so Emma takes advantage of the silence, no longer concerned with how his help could benefit her, not when she’s found like-minded people to support the opinions she doesn’t want to hold back. “If you stand for nothing, Jones, what’ll you fall for?”

Killian’s reaction is a mix of shock and a little betrayal, but not enough to faze him as he shakes his head at her, muttering under his breath about something, but Emma doesn’t hear it. She gives her attention to him nonetheless.

“Look, I didn’t come all the way to this realm just to silence myself.”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to.”

Emma stiffens, giving Killian a final look before turning back to her new friends, as if affirming her decision to become one of their groupies. They accept her with open arms (Ruby literally), and Roni buys her a shot. Emma turns back to Killian once again before they all make their way to the table they had before meeting Emma.

“Thanks for the drink. I’ll see you around.”

“Likewise,” Killian answers, brushing past her to exit. 

“Hey, don’t mind him,” Ruby says, throwing an arm over her shoulder and tugging her along to the table. “You’ve got us now.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Emma shrugs. She’d been on her own long enough to know that as long as she had been alive, she’d had to rely on herself more than anyone else, and as long as she was standing up on her feet, she was sure she could do anything.

Her whole life had been a struggle, and she was hoping this would be a turning point for her. She’d made it all the way to Storybrooke in the hopes that she could have her best chance and use it to help others have theirs as well. It had been hard trying to fit in. She had found her realm but finding her  _ people _ had been a little more difficult. Now she thinks maybe she has.

“Time to take your shot,” Roni suddenly says, breaking Emma out of her daze. She takes the glass and clinks it against the other woman’s before knocking it back. 

“You’re telling me,” Emma chuckles, silently acknowledging the double meaning. “Hey, so you think I’ve got a real shot at helping out? From the perspective of people who’re already a part of this revolution.”

“Are you kidding me?” Ruby laughs, “You absolutely do.”

“You’re a fiery one,” Roni agrees. “Life where you’re from was different, I’m sure, but you’re in Storybrooke now. This is your chance to start from scratch if you wanted. You can be a whole new person if you need to be.”

“Is that what you did?”

Roni shrugs, “In a way. There was a reputation attached to my name I had to rid myself of, at least in part, but I won’t get into that now. You’ll find out eventually.”

“What kind of difference do you want to make?” Neal asks.

“I really want people to be free to tell their stories, to be able to speak their mind and reach for their goals. It’s unfair that so many places try to control their people so much, and where I’m from, it’s so restrictive. Maybe I can do like you are,” Emma nods at Roni. “Maybe one day I can help my home realm, but it’s going to take a lot, and I don’t want to rest until I’ve succeeded.”

Neal laughs, “You’ve gotta relax sometime.”

“Not me,” Emma grins. “I’m lucky to be alive. I’m lucky to have gotten all the time I’ve gotten. I don’t want to waste even a second. I’m not throwing away my shot.”

Ruby nods with wide eyes, “If you need some connections to politics, you know you-”

“Actually, Killian might be a good ally to have,” Roni swiftly interrupts. “Sure he’s got his faults, but he might help you get an ‘in’ faster than any of us. We all know someone, but he’s already someone. Besides, he bought you a drink. That’s gotta count for something,” she says, sneering just slightly into her drink.

At that, Ruby raises an eyebrow and Emma’s eyes widen in horror at the implication the woman is making. “No! No no no, it’s not like that. But… do you really think he could help me?” The three of them nod. “Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have brushed him off.”

“He can take it,” Neal shrugs. Emma nods before checking her phone. Killian followed her back on Twitter, but otherwise said nothing. She’s sure she’d run into him again. That’s a bridge she can cross when she comes to it.

“Anyway,” Emma shrugs. “I have a good feeling about this.”

Ruby goes to pick up the next round and as they tap glasses, they all shout  _ rise up _ in honor of their fight for freedom. They’re about to take their sips when suddenly there’s a shout from across the bar, a whiny older man calling them all out for taking advantage of Rumpelstiltskin's hospitality, squandering his money and their health, in alcohol.

Emma’s had enough by the time the bar has fallen into silence, and she’s the first to openly react, standing up and storming across the bar. “Hey! The fuck is your problem?” Neal is at her heels as she runs over, trying to tug her back enough to better inform her on the situation. 

“Stand down, okay? They’ll just kick him out. It’s not worth getting kicked out too.”

“No!” Emma shouts, “These people deserve better than having to put up with this man’s bullshit.”

“Bullshit?” The man argues back, looking like he wants to throw a punch at Emma, who would definitely just throw two in response. “What’s bullshit is your fight for  _ freedom _ from our homeland.”

“Excuse me?  _ Our _ homeland? You don’t know anything about me so you can fuck right off with that.”

It’s then that the man is pulled from the bar and Emma is eased back to the table where she throws back both her shot and Roni’s, much to the woman’s dismay. They’re trying to calm her down, but she’s too irate and tipsy to pay any attention, so she turns to Twitter, immediately to find that the man (apparently his name is Sidney, @thesidneyglass on Twitter) has started an argument with Emma on the timeline about her direct insults to Rumpelstiltskin by refusing to call the Enchanted Forest her  _ homeland _ .

“@thesidneyglass look sidney ASS, my home isn’t the ef so just quit while ur ahead. I don’t owe that bastard anything, he’s corrupt and prone to manipulative responses why would i support that??”

“@lionswan you need to learn respect, as well as spelling. My last name is spelled *Glass. Also, I hope that he can forgive you for slandering him. You’re lucky he isn’t on this godforsaken website”

Emma scoffs, and it’s enough to get the attention of her friends. Roni’s the first to catch a glimpse of her screen and she updates the others, but none of them try to intervene. “@thesidneyglass why are /you/ on here anyway? Isn’t this just another example of “disrespect to the homeland?” “@thesidneyglass and anyway why are you acting all mightier than thou? Are you rumple’s trained mutt? do us all a favor and stop barking. take your stank wet dog ass out of town”

“@lionswan @thesidneyglass Swan, you do know social media can be used against you…”

“@killianitjones @thesidneyglass i don’t need your help. this guy is way out of line and he needs to be taught a lesson”

“Emma,” Neal suddenly says, distracting her enough for Roni to snatch her phone. “Not worth it,” he repeats.

Before Emma can fight back, Roni’s replaced her phone with another drink. “Let’s have another round tonight.” She gives Emma a smile that makes her relax, and Emma returns the smile. “To Emma,” the woman says, raising her glass.

“To us,” Neal says.

“To tomorrow,” Ruby says just as their glasses clink together. 

The atmosphere has shifted drastically, but even so, Emma shifts in her seat, antsy and ready to make a difference, thriving in her new group of friends and energized by the chances ahead of her. Roni grins. “No matter what they tell you,” she starts, getting Emma’s attention. “We’re gonna make it. We’ll reach our goal, build our future, for us and for our children, and when we do, they’ll tell the story of tonight.”

“Raise a glass to freedom,” Neal says, holding up his glass once again.

“I’ll drink to that,” Emma grins with a wink.


	3. the mills triplets

**(roni)**

Roni’s on her way home that night when her phone buzzes in her pocket several times in quick succession and she groans out loud, attempting to ignore it. She  _ knows _ who it is, and she refuses to answer on principle alone. Besides, she literally lives with Rayna. There’s nothing so important happening that she can’t just tell her back at the house, which is exactly where Roni wants to be after such a long day.

But the phone keeps buzzing. 

After that, it rings until she lets it go to voicemail, but eventually, Roni has had enough. She snatches the device from her pocket. “Rayna,  _ what?” _

“You didn’t even check the caller ID before you answered, sis? I’m offended.”

Roni stops, frowning down at her phone before holding it back to her ear. “Like it would have mattered. You’re just using Regina’s phone to call me. Makes no difference whether I’d checked or not.”

Her sister scoffs, “How do you know I’m  _ not _ Regina?”

“Just because we all look and sound identical, doesn’t mean I can’t tell us all apart. Besides, you  _ talk _ like Rayna, and Regina wouldn’t fuck with me. She’s the  _ good one _ .”

Rayna laughs, “How about you come here and say that.”

Roni squints. “Where.”

It turns out that her sisters are all at The Rabbit Hole, the only other bar in town. Go figure. It’s the least likely place where they’d run into their father, not that Roni cares. Henry hardly ever goes out.

By the time she gets there, Rayna is dancing out on the floor, and she’s clearly had a little more to drink than Regina, who’s standing off to the side taking incriminating pictures. Roni can’t help but snort as she makes her way over to her younger triplet. “Are you kidding me?”

Regina shrugs, “I’m not gonna post them, but having them is really good leverage.”

“What are you guys even doing here?”

“Ask Rayna. It was her idea. I guess she’s lonely.”

The curly haired brunette snorts, “Unsatisfied, you mean. What happened to Graham?”

“Told him to hit the road, and he did! Literally!” Rayna yells as she makes her way back to her sisters. “He moved back to the Enchanted Forest. I think he’s working for Rumple.” None of them are really  _ that _ surprised, but it’s still discouraging, people they know going in the opposite direction as the rest of them. Rayna smirks, “Glad he’s gone honestly. He was holding me back. I’m looking for a mind at work, and he was a mind in the gutter.”

“Get a drink,” Regina says, nudging Roni. 

“I’ve already had a few,” she says, waving her hand. 

“Out with Neal and Ruby again?”

“Yeah… oh! And Emma. This new girl. She totally dissed Killian, and I think she’ll be really great to have around. She’s quite the spitfire.” She shrugs, “You’d like her,” 

“You plural, or you singular?” Rayna asks with an arched brow.

“Ha ha,” Roni says humorously. “I’m not setting her up with either of you. Don’t think I forgot about what happened with Daniel the last time I tried playing matchmaker. We’re just gonna leave it alone, and whatever happens happens.” Rayna deflates a little, but the both of them still have that determined fire in their eyes as if Roni’s words presented some great challenge. Roni waits a beat before teasing, “How about I set her up with Zelena?” 

“No!”

“Zelena’s not even here!”

Roni hums, feigning interest in her nails as a cover for how much she wants to laugh at them both. “Emma can just join us for a little trip to Oz. I bet she’d like it there. The winged monkeys may even be a good selling point.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Rayna shakes her head before she finishes her drink. “If you’re done, we should head back. I don’t want Dad to worry too much.”

**(regina)**

The youngest triplet suddenly looks up from her own drink, looking put out and a little irritated. “Rayna, seriously? It’s the weekend, and we never go out like this. You were the one who wanted to come out here to begin with!”

“Maybe I should have just downloaded Tinder,” Rayna laughs. “Like Roni.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“You both deserve better than Tinder, you know. And anyway, this has nothing to do with relationships or hookups.” Regina tries to explain, but Rayna doesn’t look convinced.

“What’s it about then?”

“Look around you!” Regina says, holding her arms out with a wide grin on her face. “Look at how lucky we are to be alive right now. In the greatest city in all the realms.”

“Second greatest,” Roni says between fake coughs.

“Whatever,” Regina dismisses, turning back to Rayna. “You can go home, but I’m staying here with Roni.”

“She just said she wanted to leave too,” Rayna reminds her. “I’m not leaving my baby sister here alone with all these skeeves.”

The youngest sister sighs, taking another glance around the bar. It’s a skeevy bar, sure, but it’s not like most of the people here are untrustworthy or… gross. Just a little rowdy. Regina looks back at her older sisters and is about to stubbornly argue with them them once more, but then she catches sight of Killian walking through the front door. He meets her gaze and gives her a smile and a nod.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go.”

Henry’s in his office when they all get back, and when they try sneaking by the door, he peers at them over the top of his glasses. He gives them an amused look, tinted with disapproval, and Regina slips in with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Dad. We were safe, I promise. Well... me and Rayna were, I don’t know what Roni got up to,” Regina laughs. “How’s it going?”

Henry slides his glasses from his face and sets them on the desk, his eyebrows raising briefly as he looks back up at his youngest daughter. “It could be worse. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we don’t have quite the team we need. Nolan has too much to manage, so I’m going to try and find more help for the office.”

Regina hesitates, her eyes downcast. She’d applied for a teaching position and is still waiting to hear back, but she can’t help but be drawn to a job alongside the Chief and her father. She wants to make a difference and can’t help but feel like this is the way to do it. “Well, you know… I would--”

Henry shakes his head. “Absolutely not. This position is relatively safe… secretary stuff and all, but with a war happening, there’s no telling the kinds of situations you could end up in if you took it. There are plenty of other opportunities, not to mention that teaching position you want, but Nolan’s right hand isn’t the job for you, nor your sisters.”

“Not even Roni?” Henry levels her with a look, and Regina sighs in defeat. “If you say so. Keep me updated on the other positions though, please? Just in case.” She turns to leave but stops when her father clears his throat behind her. 

“It’s to protect you, you know. The three of you already get into enough trouble around the city as it is. I have half a mind to send you to stay with your sister.” Regina opens her mouth to argue but holds her tongue when her father holds a hand up, “I  _ won’t _ , but I’m worried this city isn’t a good place for you. At least not right now.”

“I think it’s fine,” Regina responds. “Besides, if Storybrooke Middle School hires me, I need to be around. And other reasons,” she mumbles. Henry gives her a curious look. “Say I wanted to get married… shouldn’t I be looking for someone from here?”

Henry laughs, “Don’t talk like that. You grew up too fast, Regina. All three of you did.”

“Is that a yes?” she smiles.

“If you want it to be. Just make sure that whoever they are… they’re strong. I can’t tell you who to choose, but I do want to genuinely like them,” he says with a fatherly wink.

“And Mom?”

Most of the humor leaves Henry’s eyes with a sigh. “Your mother’s another story. But she won’t be back for a while. In the meantime, let me know if you find anyone. For you or for the position.” Henry chuckles. “Maybe even both.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

There’s a party happening.

There seems to  _ always _ be a party happening, but this one’s been talked about more than any other. Emma had heard about it from nearly everyone on Twitter, specifically from Killian who had DM’d her for the first time after  _ weeks _ of their initial acquaintanceship, telling her to  _ be there or be square _ . She of course had responded  _ like you _ ? And received nothing back, but she showed up regardless.

Apparently it was the biggest event of the year so far, hosted by Henry Mills himself, one of the richest men in Storybrooke. Emma had never met him, but she’d heard of him before she even set foot in town. A Mills connection would no doubt help her in the long run, and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t one of the only reasons she was here at the party. (Sorry, not sorry, Killian). 

It had been a solid first couple of months in Storybrooke, but nothing was moving quite as fast as Emma had initially hoped. There had been a position she’d heard about, working as the Chief’s right hand, but with no viable references, she hadn’t bothered applying. She’s starting to wish she had anyway.

“Swan!” She jumps at the sound of Killian’s voice, shouting towards her across the room, his arms outstretched like his wide smile as he makes his way over to her. She raises an eyebrow, having not expected such a vocal and friendly welcome. She’s about to call back out to him when he holds up a finger before stopping at the bar and then resuming his walk with two drinks in hand. “Rum and coke,” he offers her. She rolls her eyes at the drink choice, but accept the offering nonetheless.

Despite most of their first encounter happening in a bar, she can’t help but be a little shocked at the ease in which he glides through the room, nodding and smiling at nearly everyone. He downs half the drink in one go, and Emma’s eyebrows raise. “You don’t strike me as the party type, Jones.”

“Well, you’ve got a lot to learn,” he laughs. “And speaking of learning, you’re new here, and I know you’ve made  _ some _ social connections, but I have a word of advice.”

“Not more advice,” Emma groans, snickering just enough to let him know she was only joking (for the most part). He gives her a look, less amused. “I’m kidding.”

Killian hums before taking another swig of his drink and pointing across the room. “Your friend Roni?”

“Yeah?”

“She’s got three other sisters. Two of them are here.”

“Uh, yeah, I know. We’re friends, remember? Confiding in each other and all that…”

Killian stares at her, suddenly entertained, and Emma wonders what she’s missing. “Well here’s something new… They’re triplets.”

“What?” Emma squeaks, her eyes going wide as the words sink in, and as she spins to look for them, Killian chuckles. She ignores him as she glaces Roni’s two sisters across the room. It shakes her for a moment, seeing two people identical to one of her closest friends, but she’s awed more than anything. Like Roni, they’re both beautiful. One has shorter hair, the length of Roni’s, only not wild and curly, and the other’s is long, pulled back, but it looks like it would go all the way down her back if she were to take it down. 

“If you had to choose…” Killian starts.

The blonde snorts, turning right back to him, trying to act casual, even though her nerves are buzzing. “You’re not going to suggest we each call dibs and go for it, are you? You’re a terrible wingman.” Killian just wiggled his eyebrows in response. “God, you’re such a womanizer.”

“I am a politician, after all.” With a scoff, Emma waterfalled the rest of her drink before shoving the empty glass into Killian’s hand. “Your loss.”

“ _ Your _ loss,” Emma corrected, walking away from him and towards Roni’s sisters without so much as a glance back.

The thought of trying to date, or maybe even  _ actually  _ date ( _ if only _ ) someone who looks just like Roni would be a little weird, but not shocking. Roni is  _ hot _ , and Emma enjoys her company. They get along well, so it’s not hard to believe the same can be said about her friend’s siblings, even if they all just end up being friends.

When she almost catches the eye of one of them, the one with shorter hair, dressed a little more modest than the other, Emma ducks back around, not feeling entirely prepared. Killian laughs and shoves another drink into her hand. “Get it together, Swan.”

She takes the drink with a roll of her eyes but doesn’t drink it. “Like this will help me,” she scowls.

Killian frowns as he takes the drink back. “Hmm, you’re right. You’ll just talk more.” Emma rolls her eyes. “I didn’t think it was possible, but…”

“I defy expectation,” Emma smirks. 

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about,” Killian smirks, turning away.

**(regina)**

Across the room, Regina stands with Rayna, staring helplessly at a new face in the crowd talking with Killian. She can’t tear her gaze away, even when Rayna nudges her, and waves a hand in front of her face that she successfully ducks around so not to look anywhere but the beautiful blonde. “Who is that?”

If Regina hears her sister’s breath catch, she doesn’t say anything to indicate as such, but given how intently she’s gazing across the room, she doesn’t notice much else. “I think that’s Emma Swan. Roni’s friend she keeps telling us about.”

“Oh, the one she thinks we’ll fight over?”

“Can’t say I’m surprised she thinks that…” Rayna mutters.

Regina laughs, an affirmation of the statement, but she still can’t look away. She hasn’t so much as even spoken with the woman, and already she’s more infatuated than ever before, and considering what she’s heard from Roni, Emma’s quite the catch, not just for her looks. Her sister tells them stories frequently of how Emma’s smart and funny, brave and considerate, and Regina can’t wait to have all of this affirmed.

This no longer feels like some kind of competition between sisters, but a helpless need to win this woman over. She plans to as she leans over to Rayna. “Dibs,” she says, trying to keep the situation light, but she’s nervous as soon as she says it, worried it’s just going to be brushed off as a joke.

Rayna chuckles, and to Regina’s surprise and utter panic, her sister boldly steps forward, making her way over to Emma, just as Killian turns away from the blonde, and the younger sister kicks herself for not having taken action in favor of treating the situation so casually. Surely she could have had a chance? But now that Rayna’s on the move, that chance is as good as gone.

**(rayna)**

The blonde turns around the second Rayna’s hand brushes against her shoulder. She smiles but looks like a lost puppy despite it all, and the brunette can’t help but smile at her endearing expression. She doesn’t know if Emma even knows her name, her first name anyway, but she certainly recognizes her. There’s a fire in those green eyes that ignites one within Rayna, her whole body igniting with a spark. She places an arm on Emma’s bicep and gives it a casual squeeze. 

Emma flexes in response, and Rayna feels like she could melt. “Hey,” the blonde says with a soft smile, somehow cocky and shy at the same time, and the brunette responds with a smile of equal fervor, moving her hand from the blonde’s bicep to take her hand instead. 

The blonde’s handshake is firmer than she expected. Her hand lingers in Emma’s as she introduces herself in a smooth voice, waiting to drop her hand until the blonde has affirmed her identity. “Rayna Mills.”

“Emma Swan,” the blonde says before her grin becomes goofier. “Mills, huh? You must be Roni’s sister.”

“What gave it away?” Rayna laughs, and Emma joins her. “So, I’ve heard a lot about you, Emma Swan.”

“Good things, I hope.”

“Roni tells me you’re from Asphodel? What’s it like there? I know nothing about it other than it being nearly impossible to leave. Did you have to leave your family behind?”

For a moment, Emma looks like a deer in the headlights before she dismisses the question with a wave, and Rayna’s brow furrows at the reaction. “I prefer to look ahead, you know? Build a future rather than deconstruct my past.”

“I completely understand that,” Rayna agrees with a nod. “Sometimes the future is all we have, even if we don’t know it. Even when you live in the present, every decision you make affects the future, but none of them can change the past.”

“Exactly!” Emma beams, her eyes lighting up, the fire in them glowing even brighter. The connection between the two is undeniable, even if they come from two different worlds. Emma seems to be thinking the same as she regards Rayna, her gaze shifting into something more analytical, the smile remaining on her face with a dazed look.

“What?” Rayna asks, breathless.

“You just…” Emma starts before she trails off, scuffing her boots on the ground before nervously glancing back up. “You have this look in your eyes. Almost…  insatiable,” she says, and Rayna’s eyes widen in surprise. “I mean…” Emma laughs, looking down again. “You remind me of myself. I’m never satisfied.” Rayna quirks a brow, prompting Emma to add, “Never really have been. You have that same look.”

The brunette appears speechless, but she can relate. It’s not anything she would let on though. Admitting to a distinct lack of satisfaction is as good as admitting weakness, and Rayna isn’t going to do that, not to anyone, and certainly not to this woman as a first impression, even if they’re admittedly on all too common of ground.

“So,” Rayna responds. “Unsatisfied? What’s your plan to fix that?” she asks. 

“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

“Clever,” Rayna says with a single laugh, ”But I don’t believe I ever confirmed that I’m unsatisfied. As far as you know, that’s just you.”

Emma tries to cover a smile as she licks her lips, shrugging before saying, “I’ll take my chances. Anyway, it’s all about closure on the past and changing as we move forward. Seeking out new opportunities… new connections… things like that.”

Rayna nods, her smile still bright as she looks at the blonde, but something in her has shifted. She can’t get it out of her mind, suddenly wondering if chasing Emma really is the right plan of action. Ever since Emma initially dismissed the past, her family, her home realm without so much as a simple acknowledgement, ever since she openly admitted to a distinct trend of dissatisfaction, and even now as she discusses connections and opportunity, starting completely fresh, Rayna can’t help but wonder what Emma’s game is. 

The two of them connect perfectly, and the older woman understands where she’s coming from, but there’s something nagging at her, not just about Emma, but about  _ her and Emma _ , and she doesn’t understand it until she glances back over to Regina, still watching the blonde with that same soft, helpless expression and everything just makes sense.

She can’t let herself think too much about it.

Taking Emma’s hand in hers, she tugs the woman in her sister’s direction. “Where are we going?”

“I’m about to change your life,” Rayna tells her with one final glance back. “If that’s alright with you.”

“By all means,” Emma grins.

**(emma)**

The walk across the room is short, but the air is thick with anticipation, making it seem like it’ll never end. It only takes Emma a moment to catch on, and when she looks over Rayna’s shoulder as the woman leads her along, she knows what’s going to happen before it does, and she has time to get her nerves under control before the third Mills sister is right in front of her, taking her hand with a soft smile.

“Regina,” she introduces. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi,” Emma says, sounding less sure of herself than she had when she met Rayna, but when it makes Regina’s smile widen, she decides it’s well worth it. “I’m Emma.”

“I know,” Regina says, exuding confidence. She smiles at her sister, who just smirks.

“I’ll be at the bar. You kids have fun,” she says, poking them both in the arm. Emma feels panicked as she leaves, but comforted once again as she feels Regina’s fingers intertwine with hers. 

At Rayna’s departure, the two immediately fall into silence, suddenly unable to do anything other than stare at each other helplessly with goofy grins on their faces. To anyone paying attention, they appear in love, rather than two people who have just met for the first time. It’s unlike anything either of them have experienced.

Their world will never be the same.


	4. dying is easy, living is harder

**(emma)**

She and Regina talk every day. 

They text and they tweet. They take pictures together and they take selfies to send to each other. They get coffee and they go for random walks around town holding hands. They do a lot of things together, but one thing they don’t do is talk about what it any of it means. 

That is, until a few weeks later when Emma suddenly blurts out, “Are we dating?”

Regina smirks at her from across the table. Tonight they’re at dinner, having decided to go on a whim. “I don’t know. You haven’t asked me yet.”

Emma’s brow furrows, “Then what did I just do..?” Regina smiles at her for a long moment before a soft laugh escapes her lips, and it just makes Emma even more confused. “What’d I miss?”

A few days later, Emma works up the courage to ask for advice. She considers going to Killian, who always seems to have some kind of advice, but she’s never seen him  _ with _ anyone else, so she thinks there must be better people to ask.

She wants to ask Roni, but considering this is about her sister, Emma’s not sure if that would be more helpful or more harmful to her. The same could be said for Rayna, but that would be almost as weird as asking Regina herself.

It’s how she ends up whispering to Neal and Ruby one night in Aesop’s Tables before Roni shows up to join them. “How do you know if you’re dating someone?”

Ruby just starts laughing while Neal blinks at her, completely puzzled. “Have you had  _ the talk _ yet?”

“The… talk?” Emma asks. “Isn’t that about like… sex?”

Ruby’s eyes roll, “Not  _ that _ talk. The relationship talk. The definitions talk. You ask her about where she sees this going, how she feels about you, and you tell her where you want everything to go and that you really like her. If you want to date her, you ask her if she’d like to be your girlfriend. Really, Emma, it’s not that difficult.”

“Oh,” Emma says.

It really didn’t seem like it would be that hard… in theory, but the minute Roni shows up at the bar, Regina not far behind, giving Emma a bright smile as they lock eyes, Emma loses her entire train of thought. She’s supposed to be  _ bold _ . She’s supposed to be  _ confident _ . But Regina just has a way of making her into a total helpless mess.

“Hi,” she grins as Regina takes the seat next to her, scooching in close.

“Hey yourself,” the brunette says before she leans in to press a chaste kiss to Emma’s cheek.

It’s all Emma thinks about for the rest of the night.

By the end, she’s nowhere closer to whatever the goal is, and when they part ways for the night, and Regina reluctantly pulls away from the blonde’s brief embrace to walk home with Roni, Emma stops her. 

“Regina, wait.”

Everybody stops to look at her, and she blushes under the gaze of an audience for something so intimate. It’s not that she’s a completely private person, but this is really the kind of thing she’d rather do with just her and Regina, not in front of her friends, and especially not in front of her hopefully-future-girlfriend’s sister.

“Is it alright if I walk you home?” 

Regina grins, nodding as she takes Emma’s hand. “I’ll see you there, Roni,” she says, and the woman rolls her eyes as she turns to leave, but not before pulling Emma aside to tell her that she’s not going to give Emma the  _ you-treat-her-right _ speech because as far as she’s concerned, that’s Rayna’s job.

Ruby winks at Emma as she follows an oblivious Neal away, and Emma pauses for a moment before starting the walk, so that Roni can get a good head start. There’s a chill in the air, and Emma offers Regina her jacket. With a soft smile, the brunette accepts. As she slips the red leather over her shoulders, Emma shifts slightly, antsy for the walk, driven by her nerves, The brunette next to her now stands waiting, smiling down at her feet like she knows what’s coming.

It’s all so easy really, the way it falls into place. The way Emma’s fingers join with Regina’s so smoothly, and the way Regina swings their hands back and forth together just slightly. The way Regina’s eyes sparkle when she glances over at Emma, and the way Emma doesn’t shy away from her own blush creeping up in response.

By the time they reach Regina’s home, they haven’t said a word, but the air around them feels as though they’ve already had the conversation. Emma’s heart rate quickens at the thought that there’s still so much to be said, but it follows the pattern their quiet walk had, slipping out so smoothly, more or less.

“Regina?” Dark eyes shine into green, giving the answer before the question is even asked. “Would you like to be my girlfriend? I know that sounds really juvenile, but I’m not sure how else to phrase it, and I really like you so--”

The other woman’s lips interrupt Emma’s ramble, her hands pressing gently to the blonde’s face. It’s an awkward first kiss, both of them smiling too much at the fact that it’s happening at all, but when Emma pulls back with a giddy giggle and “Is that a yes?” Regina just smirks before initiating a second kiss, grinning against Emma’s lips until they’re both lost in the moment.

Of course, nothing is perfect, and when Rayna swings the door open with a devious look in her eye and starts to tease them, the moment turns into fits of laughter and a lot of blushing, especially on Emma’s part. “Sorry! I couldn’t resist,” Rayna admits. “I’ll let you get back to it. See you inside, Regina,” she adds with a pointed look.

**(regina)**

Emma laughs nervously, and they both glance at the still open door before facing each other again. “So… yes?”

“What do you think?”

“Yes?” Emma asks, the adorable intonation in her voice rising with her still growing smile.

“Absolutely yes,” Regina confirms.

The brunette is basically floating when she walks into the house and closes the door, smiling at the memory of Emma’s lips on hers, oblivious to her older sister hovering near the base of the staircase. Really, what did she expect? “So,” Rayna starts with a smirk. “Is she as good a kisser as I think she is?”

Regina half sighs, half groans as she pushes herself away from the door now closed door and walks further into the house. “I am  _ not  _ discussing this with you.”

“Fiiine,” her sister drawls. “Don’t think I don’t wonder though.” Regina passes her a hard side-eye. “I’m just saying! If you really loved me you’d share,” Rayna winks, and the youngest triplet laughs.

“You wish.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

It had been almost two and a half months since anyone, government official or otherwise, had heard from Rumpelstiltskin, the man who was still  _ their king _ despite them having left the realm entirely. He wouldn’t let it go that  _ his people _ could just abandon their  _ homeland _ and get away with it, but even more, he thought that by continuing to have power and rule over them, he was actually helping.

Since Storybrooke has no structured government of its own yet, separated from the rest of the realm and still fighting for independence from the Enchanted Forest, the one who deals primarily with communications with the realm is Henry Mills, but everyone who knows Rumpelstiltskin knew that he doesn’t like other people to do his bidding.

So when he appears through a portal in the middle of Storybrooke, no one’s really that surprised. He stands in the middle of Main Street, looking irritated and straight faced just waiting until he’s gathered any semblance of an audience to say anything at all. 

When Henry shows up and Rumple meets his eye, he finally clears his throat obnoxiously as if no one knew he was standing there, “Hello, citizens,” he begins, “ _ My  _ citizens, might I add. I just was thinking earlier this morning that it’s been a spell since I’ve come for a visit…”

“You’ve literally never been here,” Neal speaks up from the crowd, not bothering to disguise his irritation.

Rumple sneers, “I’m sure I raised you better than that, Baelfire.”

“It’s Neal now.”

“Yes, yes. Whatever. Anyway, I just thought I would come by to see your… temporary home,” he says, taking a glance around, looking anything but impressed. “Could use some work…”

“Actually, this place isn’t  _ temporary _ ,” Emma says, pushing her way through the crowd to the front where she can face  _ the king _ directly. Her eyes widen a little when she catches sight of his green, scaly skin, not expecting the man to look the way he does. She’d assumed that Killian’s nickname for him was more a disdainful joke than anything, but he really did look like a crocodile. 

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. This is our  _ home _ . No modifier needed.”

Rumple giggles, high pitched and misplaced, before he brushes her aside, turning towards Henry and faces he deems familiar and thus more worthy. “I would just like to remind everyone in this sorry little colony that we made a deal. You got to take your little vacation to a shiny new realm, but you would continue to respect me as your leader.

“Now, maybe you think my  _ love _ is too high a price, but you’ll remember that I have more power than this pathetic realm overall. I can give you anything you’ve ever wanted, and I don’t care how long you stay here. Do you know why?”

The people are silent, either submitting to his words, accepting them at face value, nodding along in agreement, or stewing in enraged silence, knowing it would only be worse to interrupt him. Emma is part of the latter, on the verge of an outburst.

“Because I know you’ll be back. You need me, just like I need you.”

“We  _ don’t _ need you,” Emma interjects, unable to hold it back anymore, and Rumple’s lip curls.

“ _ I’m _ talking,” he sneers as his gaze strays from her and back to everyone else. “Before I was so rudely interrupted,” he says with a momentary pointed glare at Emma, “how do you lot think I’m faring without you? Are you really so selfish not to think about how your absence affects  _ me _ ?” A few people open their mouths to respond, but Rumple clicks his tongue and snaps his fingers, and suddenly no one can talk.

Emma tries shouting at him despite the incurable silence suddenly plaguing the town, and Rumple giggles in delight as he takes in the sight of a town subjecting to his magic. “This should be a good reminder of how much power I still have over you. Now I know what you’re thinking…  _ how can he think we could still love him after taking away our freedom of speech _ ?... Well dearies, I’m also going to…” he snaps his fingers, and the roads beneath their feet become smooth and free of potholes. Business windows shine brand new, and Rumple lets out a satisfied sigh. “You see? I do love you. There’s more where that came from… so long as you keep your end of our deal. If you don’t, there will be consequences,” he says, his voice dropping dangerously.

**(emma)**

A beat passes before he giggles again and turns to walk back through the still open portal, waving his hand once more just before it closes and returning everyone’s voices to them.

“What the hell was that?” Emma asks angrily.

“Calm down…” Killian starts from behind her, and she turns on him.

“Are you kidding me? How do you expect me to remain calm about that? He literally took our voices. He’s abusing magic, he’s abusing his power, and he’s abusing us. He’s manipulating us by providing things we need but never asked for as leverage. I’m fired up, yes, but with good reason. How can you just stand there and be okay with this?”

“I never said I was okay with this…”

“Of course not. Because you never say anything,” Emma snaps. Killian opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. “You can’t blame Rumple’s magic this time. This is all you,” Emma says, shaking her head before disappearing into the crowd.

It doesn’t take Emma long to find Regina, and she’s so happy to see her and so stressed in general that she doesn’t even notice her girlfriend’s father in the vicinity. She presses her lips to Regina’s the first moment she can, her hands gripping her waist even after she pulls away.

“Emma,” Regina greets with a heavy blush, her eyes meeting her father’s expectant gaze. “Emma, this is my father.”

Then it’s the blonde’s turn to blush. “Oh, I, uh--”

“It’s alright,” Henry laughs, shaking Emma’s hand. “I’ve heard great things. Not just from Regina, but from her sisters as well.”

For the first time, Emma feels at a loss for words. She wants to impress the man, not just because he’s her girlfriend’s father, but also because he’s a renowned leader and a significant figure in Storybrooke’s fight for freedom.

“Emma’s been doing a lot of reading lately,” Regina starts, giving Emma a way in. She gives her girlfriend an appreciative smile as Henry raises his brows, encouraging her to elaborate. She’s met a lot of important people in town so far, but he was no doubt in the top three. She’s determined to make a good impression.

“Yeah, of course!” she starts with a series of passionate nods. “I’ve been researching all the realms and their political systems, looking into the pros and cons of magic in realms, the pros and cons of magic bans, as well as the consequences of lenient magic regulations. There’s a lot of interesting history, and of course some dry information about more technical things, but that doesn’t stop me. There’s so much to take in, and I don’t want to waste any opportunities. So I’ve been looking into people more, Rumpelstiltskin for instance, and not to mention you and Chief Nolan. You know, people who’ve been against us and people who’ve been making a difference. I just hope that one day, I can make a difference too,” she boldly finishes.

Regina beams proudly at her before eyeing her father, looking for signs of approval. He has a gentle smile on his face as he turns to his daughter. “I like this one,” he says, not at all discreet before he holds his hand back out to Emma. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

* * *

 

**(rayna)**

“Chief?” Rayna says as she knocks, pushing the door open just enough to peek in. “Is it alright if I come in?”

Nolan laughs, “You know you don’t need to ask, Rayna. You’re always a great help to me. What’s up?”

“There was a message from Rumpelstiltskin... ”

“Ah, yes. I heard he came by earlier,” the Chief says, eyes rolling. “Your father already told me everything.”

“All due respect, but this is about a different message. A written one. Your, uh… bird… sent it.” Rayna reaches over to set the paper on the large desk. “It doesn’t look good, Chief.”

Nolan skims the paper before looking back up to Rayna, eyes wide but with no traces of fear. “It’s nothing we can’t handle I’m sure. We have some people willing to fight, and right now, I think that’s all we need.”

“What about an assistant?” Rayna asks, brows furrowed.

The Chief’s expression mirrors hers. “What do you mean? Aren’t you working as my assistant?”

“Kind of?” Rayna shrugs. “I’m not  _ just _ your assistant though, you know. You could use someone who is here specifically for you. Someone to help call the shots. Someone who won’t back down.”

“Who did you have in mind? I do have some applications…” Rayna shakes her head, but doesn’t get to speak before the Chief, assuming who Rayna is about to suggest, cuts her off. “If you’re going to say David…”

“Oh! No, ma’am. I already know, he’s watching the kids.” Mary Margaret gives her a knowing grin before Rayna moves on. “I was actually going to suggest someone new. Her name is Emma Swan.”

The woman squints in thought. “Your father mentioned her to me after the Rumpelstiltskin incident. He told me she stood up to him?”

Rayna nods, “That’s right.”

“I’ll look into it,” Mary Margaret says. “But I can’t make any promises. We’ll have to see how it goes. First, we need to handle this situation.”

**(mary margaret)**

The situation is that Rumpelstiltskin plans to send troops of his loyal followers straight through a portal into Storybrooke’s harbor, fully armed and prepared to fight. Rumple mentioned in the letter that this was more of a warning than anything, but it still led Mary Margaret into a panicked state when she realized how outnumbered they were, not just in terms of people, but weapons as well. 

The realm formerly known as the Land Without Magic had a lot to offer in terms of weapons, but when magic had been brought in, Storybrooke’s connection to the outside world became nonexistent. They only had the weapons that they’d brought with them from their former home, mostly bows and swords, some knives. Nothing nearly as big as what Rumple was sending in.

Not all hope was lost as they were able to reach out to a few other realms. Zelena sent some of her vicious flying monkeys through to add to their numbers, and Roni was able to make realm jumps through to Hyperion Heights, where the only accessible magic was in the bar she had owned there. She was able to go out into the Land Without Magic and get some weapons better suited for the cannons and dark magic Rumpelstiltskin was sending their way.

Chief Nolan gathers the troops, arming them with the weapons they’re most comfortable with using and leaves the office behind, giving Rayna strict orders to evacuate areas closest to the bay and get the people to a safe location. 

As everyone walks through the city, Mary Margaret takes a look around her and can’t help but feel afraid that  _ this _ moment might be the last moment. She pushes the thought aside before it can fully form and replaces it with her usual hopeful demeanor, though she doesn’t let it overshadow the reality that they are very obviously being outdone by Rumple.

“Chief,” someone says from beside Mary Margaret, effectively breaking her concentration. “I’ve got a boat!” he exclaims.

She squints at him. “Are there cannons on it?”

“No, but--”

“Then it’s of no use to me,” she says effectively brushing the man off.

She doesn’t have time for trivial conversations. Now is the time for battle and standing up for their realm, their city, their rights, their people… She’s not formally in charge of this town. Not yet, but she feels the heavy weight of responsibility over them. 

They approach the harbor too soon, and are greeted with a row of enemy ships, too many for the group Mary Margaret is leading toward them. They’re outnumbered even against this modest group of foes. 

“On my count!” she shouts, and everyone assumes positions at the edge of the docks. “Three! Two!”

_ BOOM _

The cannon blows just as Chief Nolan shouts the final number, and she watches in horror as part of her team dives out of the way of the cannonball while the rest flee altogether. The few that remain start firing back. But the ship blasts another cannonball their way. It hits the water before it reaches them, but it makes some fall into the bay and even more of them retreat.

Nolan shakes her head in awe, not the good kind. There’s no way to keep them in line, and her hope dwindles even further when it dawns on her just how bad off they are. 

Another cannon blows and what’s left of her team is completely in shambles, though no one has been properly injured yet, even though from a distance, she’s sure that’s what it looks like to the enemy. The cannons keep firing despite it, and she doesn’t want to surrender, but if Rumple’s troops keep firing at them, she can’t protect her town.

There’s another cannonball that makes it to the docks this time, blowing an entire section to pieces. There are cries of anguish, and Mary Margaret shouts at the retreating crew. “Fall in line! Your people are injured and you’re  _ cowering _ ! Ready your weapons!” she yells as she prepares her bow, starting to shoot. Her arrows go far, but she’s just one person.

A few of the stronger-willed soldiers stand tall, shooting weapons towards the ships, causing screams in the distance proving the method at least moderately effective, but it’s cancelled out with another cannon blast, blowing up another part of the dock and taking some more of her crew with it.

Mary Margaret turns to watch as others drag their comrades from the wreckage, from the water. A few people let out pained moans, but others don’t so much as flinch. 

They’re losing.

Another blast sounds, this time from closer to them. Right next to them, in fact, and Mary Margaret and the crew on the docks all flinch, ducking out of instinct. The cannons go off in more rapid succession, all from the space immediately beside them.

As the last cannon sounds, echoing through the city, there are cries of victory coming from the source of the cannons, sighs of relief from on the dock, and Snow looks towards one of the only boats belonging in Storybrooke’s harbor that constitutes more as a  _ ship _ than a boat, surprised to see a familiar group high fiving behind cannons.

“That’s my boat! The man from earlier says, standing on her other side.

“You said it didn’t have cannons,” she squints. 

“It doesn’t…  _ didn’t _ ,” he corrects. “It appears to now…”

Mary Margaret hums as she takes in the people cheering behind the cannons, lighters in their hands. She recognizes one as Rumpelstiltskin’s son, another as one of the Mills triplets, and another, someone new, standing next to Ruby.

Rumple’s ships are far enough out now that it seems safe to reign everyone back in. “Even though most have already done it, it’s time to fall back. Any injured need to be handled accordingly. Lance, I need you to call for ambulances.” 

The man nods and everyone sets out. Mary Margaret is about to turn and head back to the office to discuss strategy and extra help with Rayna when someone suddenly appears before her in a cloud of dark smoke.

“Rumpelstiltskin,” she sneers.

“Oh, don’t sound so happy to see me, dearie. I’m just here with another message for you.” Nolan rolls her eyes and the imp frowns at her. “Now, now. That’s no way to treat your  _ king _ .”

“You’re not my king.”

“Just because you decided to run off and be a bandit does not mean you’re exempt from the law.” She levels him with a look but says nothing else. “Anyway, the message is that this little… dispute. This isn’t the end. There will be more attacks. I will send more troops after you and your precious little town. I will kill everyone here if I have to. Whatever it takes for you and your people to return back to where you belong.”

The Chief snorts, crossing her arms tight across her chest. “Not if we come to you first.”

Rumple giggles, rubbing his hands together as if excited. “I look forward to it,” he says before disappearing again with another cloud of smoke.

Mary Margaret doesn’t  _ poof _ anywhere, but she gets back to her office as fast as she can. Rayna is already there waiting for her, a determined expression on her face. “I’m assuming you know how bad that was?” Mary Margaret asks, and Rayna nods somberly.

“There are three dead, nine injured.”

“Not to mention all the cowards that ran at the first sign of trouble. Do they seriously believe I can do it all by myself?” she asks, exasperated.

“So you need help…” Rayna starts, a small smile creeping to her face, knowing that Mary Margaret was going to have to admit it. The chief sighs before she finally meets Rayna’s gaze.

“Tell your father to deliver the message.”

It’s not more than fifteen minutes after Rayna’s left that there’s a knock on the door. Mary Margaret calls for the person to come in, not bothering to find out who it is first, and she frowns when she looks up to see a man she doesn’t recognize stepping through the door with a smile.

“Who are you?”

“Killian Jones, ma’am. At your service,” he says as he bows ever so slightly.

“That won’t be necessary,” Mary Margaret frowns. “What do you want?”

“First, let me just say, I think you’re a great leader. Second, these are for you,” Killian says, stepping forward to drop a manila folder on her desk. She glances in it to see his resume, preceded by a cover letter and followed by a list of references and writing samples. She glances back up with a bland look. “I saw what happened earlier, and I thought I could be of assistance. I have a few suggestions as to how that could have gone better.”

“Alright, let’s hear them,” Nolan says, her hands resting on the papers in front of her, hoping that it’s nothing too terrible, but she never has a chance  to hear his advice because her door pushes open behind Killian, stopping him in his tracks.

“Hey. You wanted to see me?”

“Miss Swan,” Mary Margaret beams, her mood shifting entirely. “Please come in. Have a seat,” she says, gesturing to the chair Killian is standing behind. He looks both irritated and put out. “Oh, have you met Killian?” she asks, hoping no one noticed the way she had to eye the man’s resume in front of her before mentioning his name out loud.

“Yes…” Killian says with a slight pout.

Emma gives him an oblivious smile and a wave. “We meet again,” she says with a weak laugh. He steps back as she sits in the chair offered to her.

“It was lovely to meet you Mr. Jones. If you could just close the door on your way out?” Her smile is so genuinely pleasant now that Emma’s here, and Killian can’t do anything but what she asked. He nods at the both of them before leaving.

**(emma)**

Emma shifts in her seat, nervous. “I messed up, didn’t I?” Mary Margaret jaw goes slack at the conclusion, leaving her momentarily speechless. “I knew it! It was either the Rumple thing or--” Her eyes widen. No one was supposed to know that was her and her friends. “Or uh, the other thing…”

“The cannons?”

Emma’s eyes grow even wider, like a deer in the headlights.

The Chief laughs. “You lot were the only reason we did as well as we did, you know,” she says as she sips her tea. 

“Really?”

“I know that you’re new here, but you certainly haven’t had any trouble making yourself known or acquiring a following, earning the trust and respect of the people you’ve encountered. You stood up to Rumpelstiltskin and you stole the weapons of our enemies while they were actively targeting us and preceded to use those weapons against them.” Emma listens with bated breath, nodding ever so slightly. “May I ask why you’ve turned down every position you’ve been offered?”

It almost sounds like a trick question, this whole conversation turning into an interview of sorts, but Emma doesn’t hold back her answer. “I don’t want a job answering the phone and faxing papers. Everyone who’s offered me a job wants me to stick to the basics, to do all the boring work so they don’t have to. The last thing I need is to be stuck in a rut when I’d rather be out there fighting for Storybrooke’s freedom. I want to  _ fight _ . I don’t want to just… sit around helplessly.”

The blonde lets out a deep breath, looking down as she wrings her hands together. A long silence passes before she and emma make eye contact. “I get it you know.”

“You do?”

“I was a lot like you when I was younger. Not to get too bogged down in the details, but I ran away from home at a young age, taught myself to fight, and became a bandit. I wanted to be stronger than I was before, but I wasn’t afraid of anything. Every risky move I made directly benefited others, and I wanted to die a hero.”

“Then how…?”

Mary Margaret laughs. “That’s a story for another time. The point is, there’s a time and a place to fight and there’s also one to rest. There isn’t just one kind of fight, either. We all have to make sacrifices.”

“I know, and I’m ready to lay down my life for this cause--”

“Dying is easy,” Mary Margaret says with a slight shake of her head. “Living is harder.” The words make the room heavier, and Emma’s brows furrow as she processes them. “Look,” she sighs. “I understand. I really do, even if you don’t believe me. I know you don’t want to be a middle man, but I need someone by my side. I can’t do everything alone, and I could use someone like you.”

Emma nods once. Then again. The gives Nolan a firm look. “I’m not throwing away my shot,” she says, and Mary Margaret deflates slightly. It sounds like a no until Emma carries on. “I know some other people who could help us out. We all have connections, and I know you have a few already, but if I’m gonna help you, I want to do this right.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

Where Emma may have first thought working with Mary Margaret was going to be a waste of her time, it turned out to be anything but. She did often end up writing emails, answering phones, and faxing papers, but she also got to do some realm jumping, delivering messages to a few places she’d never seen.

Not all realms were open for such visits, or even  _ relevant _ , but it was always a journey for Emma, even after visiting the same place twice. She frequented Oz, but never spoke directly with anyone there. A few times she caught a glimpse of Wonderland and made a few trips to Camelot and Arendelle. The place she delivered messages to the most was of course the Enchanted Forest, and she couldn’t help but gape at how beautiful it was. 

If the king wasn’t so corrupt, she would consider making an actual visit.

But as it happens… 

The job had other perks too. She was able to hire a few other people under her, and she didn’t hesitate to choose her best friends, Ruby, Neal, and Roni. She’d considered Killian, but he seemed content moving his career in a different direction. She could respect that.

It didn’t hurt that Mary Margaret was admirable as a leader, and she and Emma formed a fast bond. It was an ideal relationship to have with one’s employer, and it was worth all the paperwork, even if Killian always seemed to be subtweeting her.

“So, isn’t there supposed to be another fight?” Emma asks Mary Margaret one day, remembering the Chief telling her about Rumple’s threat after the last attack and her own response to it. “Or  _ wasn’t _ there? A few months ago?”

Mary Margaret laughs. “Rumple may seem like he cares the most about keeping us under his wing, but he has so many plans going on at once that sometimes we don’t have to worry about him as much as you’d think. Besides, we’ve been planning for it.”

“Really?” 

“I’m glad you haven’t been snooping on the messages you’ve been delivering, but we’ve been seeking backup, or assistance of any kind from the other realms. Most of them hate Rumple as much as we do.”

“What about everyone here? Is everyone really willing to travel to the Enchanted Forest and fight? Because last time…”

“It won’t be like that,” the Chief confirms. “Rayna’s been acquiring people that are willing and determined.”

Emma nods, slouching as she sits up in the chair, her chin resting on her fist. “So, when is this happening? What do you need me to do?”

“Two months from now. I’d like you to help me lead, if that’s alright with you.”

It’s what Emma’s been waiting for ever since arriving in Storybrooke, and it’s finally happening. She agrees on the spot, giddy as she heads home that evening, and it’s when she pulls out her phone to text Regina the good news that she realizes this might not be entirely great.

Something could happen to her.

Death doesn’t discriminate, and this could be it for her. This day two months from now could be the moment it finally gets her, and while Emma is prepared to become a martyr for Storybrooke, she knows that not everyone in her life feels the same way.

So she makes a decision.

It’s still early enough for a late dinner reservation and she makes it before calling Regina. “You haven’t already eaten dinner, have you?” she asks with a wince, half expecting the answer to be  _ yes _ , but she hears Regina laugh like Emma’s just asked a silly question.

“No, why?”

“I’ll pick you up in half an hour. Be ready.”

It’s her girlfriend’s father who answers the door when Emma arrives, and he gives her hand a firm shake, hopefully paying no mind to her sweaty palms or the slight tremor in her voice when she casually converses with him while waiting for Regina. He compliments her on her new job, “Rayna tells me you’re doing quite well. Chief Nolan says the same.”

“Thank you for the opportunity, sir,” Emma manages to say, and he dismisses having anything to do with it, but when Regina appears and he turns to leave, he gives Emma a soft wink and a knowing smile. 

“So, what’s the occasion?” Regina asks, grinning as she turns to Emma. They’re walking hand in hand down the street, standing close, and it’s all Emma can do not to explode on the spot and ruin the surprise. She takes the easy route first, telling Regina the work related announcement she’s sure Regina’s already heard from someone else.

“The Chief wants me to help lead the attack on the Enchanted Forest. It’s not really a  _ promotion _ , but it feels a little like one.” Regina’s eyes remain on Emma, not changing, and the blonde breathes out a laugh. “You already knew that, didn’t you?”

“Roni told me when she got home. She’s leading too, though, I don’t think she’ll be in quite as much danger as you will be. Is that correct?”

“Ah, maybe?” Emma guesses. “I’m not sure. It might be the same. It’s dangerous regardless though.”

Regina swallows thickly as they approach the restaurant. “I just want you to be safe.” She turns to face the blonde outside the building, taking both of Emma’s hands in hers. “I know you’re capable of anything, but just remember that strong doesn’t mean invincible. Just stay alive, okay?”

“I can’t promise that,” Emma admits, “but I can promise to try. And I can promise-” she freezes when she realizes where she’s about to take that sentence. This was not the plan.

“Emma?” Regina prompts.

“I, uh…” She swallows hard, suddenly panicking. She was  _ planning _ to wait for the next announcement, and now all she could do was look for a loophole, sure that she would ruin the whole thing if she asked now. Is there a way to talk her way out of this without rousing Regina’s suspicions? Is there a way to back track? Should she just steer into the skid and talk now?

She hears Killian’s words somewhere in the back of her mind,  _ talk less, smile more _ , but when she takes his advice and just smiles at Regina, giving up on words, the woman frowns.  _ So much for waiting _ .

Emma drops to one knee right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Regina gasps but doesn’t let go of Emma’s hands. “Regina,” she starts, “I know I don’t have much. I live in a crappy loft apartment, but I’m working on it. My upbringing leaves much to be desired, and my savings are small, but I love you, Regina, helplessly. You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. We’re stronger together, Regina, I know we are, and I hope that you want to put that to the test as much as I do.”

Her green eyes stay focused on Regina’s the whole time, even though both are tearing up. Regina has to blink to clear her eyes as she pulls Emma back up, looping her arms around the woman’s neck, resting them on her shoulders, and brings their lips together.

A bubble of laughter erupts from the brunette after the kiss deepens, and she pulls back to rest her forehead against Emma’s. “I do.”

“You do?”

“I do.”

This time, Emma’s the one to laugh, “We’re not getting married  _ right now _ .”

“No,” Regina smiles, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of Emma’s lips. “But I would. Emma, what you said, about us being stronger together… I wholeheartedly believe that’s true. With you by my side, I’m sure that we can do anything.”

“The sky’s the limit?” Emma offers.

“No. We transcend that.”

“I love you,” Emma says again.

“I love you,” Regina responds, bringing her lips to Emma’s once more.


	5. love doesn’t discriminate

**(rayna)**

The wedding happens two months later, and it ends up being a bigger ceremony than Rayna would have expected, but her father went all out, insisting on making it perfect. Regina was the first of all four of them to be getting married, and Henry’s beside himself with excitement. 

Rayna is too of course. 

No one had been surprised when Regina asked her to be her maid of honor, nor had their other two sisters been jealous. It only made sense after all. Rayna looked out for her youngest sister at every turn, and she’d been the one to formally introduce her to Emma.

When the big day comes, Rayna has to keep a close eye on Regina to see that she doesn’t sneak out of the dressing room to find her fiancée. Frustrated and amused by her sister’s stubborn determination, she puts Roni in charge. “As the maid of honor, there’s too much I need to be doing. Keeping her here and making sure she’s ready is a full time job, and you’re it.”

Roni sighs deeply turning in time to see Regina hovering near the door, pretending like she’s looking for something. “Hey! You’re not fooling anyone,” she calls out, making her younger sister jump. “Get over here.”

“Sorry! I was just…”

“Trying to see Emma?” Regina’s face falls, guilty. “Well, you can’t. Sorry.” Roni says, not sounding sorry at all. She gently pushes her sister into the vanity chair, getting ready to help with her makeup.

“That’s a stupid tradition, you know.”

“I  _ do _ know. But this isn’t about tradition, it’s about… I don’t know… suspense? Time management?”

“Because Rayna asked you to,” Regina mumbles with a scowl.

Rayna laughs as she heads towards the door. “Have fun you two! Zelena should be getting here any minute, so…”

As soon as the door is closed behind her, Rayna’s face falls, and she struggles to keep her composure as she makes her way toward the front of the building where her older sister’s portal is supposed to be opening. She’s going to need to get a grip unless she wants to destroy Emma and Regina’s wedding.

By the time she makes it to the front, she’s sure that she’s wearing the right expression on her face and has gotten the slight waver out of her voice, but as soon as she and Zelena pull apart from their greeting hug, the redhead gives her a look that understands too much.

“Rayna… talk to me. What’s wrong?”

The way she just  _ knows _ dissolves the entire facade, and she has to look away before softly saying, “Not here.”

Instead of returning to the dressing room to see their sisters, she leads Zelena down a different hallway to a room no one’s using and no one would expect to find them in. It’s a ways down from everyone else so there’s no chance of being overheard. 

“You’re freaking me out,” Zelena bluntly states, and Rayna lets out a long exhale.

“I know, I know, I know. I’m sorry, I’m just…” she breathes deeply again. “I’ve never talked about this before to anyone, and I’m starting to feel as though I’ll explode if I don’t.”

Zelena’s brows furrow. “Alright, well, I’m here now. What are sisters for? Although I am curious… why me? Why not Regina? Or even Roni?”

Rayna shakes her head, adamant and stubborn, her face becoming even more serious. “You can never tell them. Especially not Regina.”

“Why?”

“It’s about Emma.” Zelena’s eyes widen,and Rayna is quick to dismiss any immediate assumptions. “It’s not as bad as I’m sure you’re thinking. It’s just... “ she sighs. It seems like the seconds are dragging and with each one that passes, Rayna wonders if she should even say this out loud. It’s an action that always seems to affirm internal thoughts as truth, and even though Rayna  _ knows _ it, she can’t help but fear the effects of verbalizing it. She blurts it out before she can do otherwise. “I’m in love with her,” she admits with a shaky exhale.

“What?” 

“I know!” she says defeated, perching herself on the edge of a small sofa, wringing her hands together guiltily. “I didn’t plan for this. I mean, it happens how it always does, you know? You catch someone's eye across the room and they’re just… everything you’ve ever imagined finding in your future.”

Zelena looks down, her eyes sympathetic.

“I met Emma before Regina did. At first, I think we were playing around. Regina never says  _ dibs _ ,” she snorts, “So I went over to Emma, and we talked, and we flirted. We had undeniable chemistry, and I could see it in her eyes. She was at least  _ a little _ interested in me, or else we wouldn't have hit it off as well as we did.

“Honestly, I felt a little like I was floating when I talked to her. I was lost in her eyes and when she smiled, I couldn’t think of anything but holding her close, feeling her against me, and keeping her there for as long as I could.”

“But she’s marrying our sister… so why isn't it you in there? Does Emma…”

Rayna shakes her head. “I don't know. Maybe Emma knows how I feel, maybe she doesn’t. Maybe she could feel the same… in some alternate timeline. I’m sure she would have pursued me had I not set her up with Regina. I couldn’t have been imagining the way she was looking at me. It was amazing, Zelena. I’ve never had anyone look at me like that. I’ve never clicked with anyone so well.”

“But…?” Zelena prompts

“But then I saw Regina,” Rayna says with a sad smile. “You should have seen her, Zelena, I’ve never seen her look so…  _ helpless _ , so in love, and I just couldn’t bear to break her heart like that. So I had to sacrifice my feelings for her happiness. It was the only way,” Rayna shrugged.

“Emma was already friends with Roni but having a connection to us that went beyond that friendship would have been ideal for a woman in her situation. And I’m not saying that’s the only reason she’s marrying Regina… She loves her. She does, but at the time, Emma was new in town. She hardly knew anyone, and our father is so important to this town. Even if she just wanted to befriend us, we would have been able to help her. I couldn’t be blind to that.”

“And Regina?”

“She wasn’t blind to it, but I doubt it was on her mind when she met Emma. She loved her before they so much as made eye contact. I looked at her and I just  _ knew _ . I knew she was a goner, and that if I kept pursuing Emma myself, she would let me, but… at what cost?” Rayna laughs humorlessly. “She would be unhappy and she would keep it to herself to protect me from feeling to blame. I couldn’t have that. She deserves the world.”

Rayna trails off, fiddling with a loose thread on the couch. She avoids Zelena’s gaze, looking on at her younger sister with pity. 

“So I gave it to her,” Rayna concludes with a small shrug, her voice even smaller.

“Rayna…”

“It’s fine,” she says as she sniffs, bringing the fake smile back to her lips, meeting Zelena’s gaze again and trying not to be affected by the look she finds there. “Regina is happy, and Emma is still a part of my life. We all win.”

“Do you though?” Zelena asks, her voice full of concern. She doesn’t look convinced.

“It doesn’t matter,” Rayna dismisses. “What matters is that I hold myself together through this wedding and for their entire future together after. I just… I had to tell someone, so thank you for listening.”

Zelena doesn’t say anything to that, only looks on to her sister, eyes heavy with worry. Rayna doesn’t mean it when she says it’s fine, but what choice does she have? Even if she could put her own happiness first, she can never have a happy ending with Emma. Maybe one day she would be having her own wedding, as happy as this one is for Regina. It’s the best she can hope for.

So ultimately, Zelena nods. “I’m here for you. Whatever you need, just let me know.”

Rayna acknowledges the offer with a simple look before standing, shuffling around the room like they’ve just wasted to much time. “We should go. Regina’s expecting us, and I’m sure Roni’s lost patience with me by now. Or with Regina.” The younger sister tries for a laugh but it comes out weak. Her smile drops as she puts her head in her hands. “Oh god, I can’t let Regina see how transparent I am.”

“It’s her wedding day,” Zelena shrugs. “I doubt she’ll notice anything, if she’s in love as you say she is.” 

The words shouldn’t be comforting, but Rayna finds peace in them anyway, counting to ten with a deep breath before leading Zelena down the hall to Regina’s dressing room.

The entire event goes as smoothly as their relationship heretofore, and it’s the kind of smoothness that Rayna’s not sure can be maintained forever, but it’s her wish for them, and it’s what she focuses on for the length of the event.

She smiles for them and hope it looks as proud as Roni’s and as joyful as Regina’s. Nobody needs to know that to achieve such an expression, she has to let her thoughts drift through  _ what if _ after  _ what if _ , imagining what might have been if she hadn’t turned and caught Regina’s expression, what might have happened if she hadn’t felt so much sympathy for her sister in that helpless moment, and what might have happened if she’d pursued Emma instead of introducing her to the youngest triplet before disappearing into the crowd.

Did she regret it?

It’s a question she feels she’s not allowed to ask.

So she doesn’t.

She catches Emma’s eye across the room just before she starts her toast, and she smiles at her. She doesn’t achieve the expression she should have because the blonde’s smile falters just slightly, and it’s the moment Rayna feels worry, not just for her, but for Emma. For Regina.

She knows Regina well, being part of a set of triplets, and even if she’s only known Emma for a short time, they connected over one crucial issue.

Satisfaction.

Rayna knows she’ll never be satisfied, as the woman she’s sure is the love of her life is now married to her sister, but she worries now, catching Emma’s gaze, that the blonde never be satisfied as well. She’ll love Regina as much as she can. She’ll be happy with her and she’ll honor her and take care of her, but she’ll never be satisfied.

Not like Regina will be. 

Not like Rayna wants to be.

Not like Emma needs to be.

But Rayna clears her mind of the issue, giving her brightest and best smile to her younger sister and the blonde next to her, who leans over to give her wife a kiss on the cheek that trails down her neck, and causes Regina to make an un-Mills-like giggle. 

The oldest triplet taps her glass with a  _ clink _ and clears her throat, starting her toast with a sentiment she’s put too much thought into, “To the brides, to your union, to the hope that you provide.” Regina beams up at her, completely unaware that anything is amiss, that her older sister is cracking at the edges as she smiles over at her. She gives a toast, complimenting Emma and her determination, complimenting her sister and her kind heart, her trusting nature, and of course the way they both strive to make a difference in the world, the way they successfully make a difference to the people they meet. She shares a funny story, joking about sharing Emma, and when Regina laughs, remembering the moment, Emma puts on a smile as fake as Rayna’s, though not as successful, and ducks her head. Rayna raises her glass. “May you always be satisfied,” she concludes, avoiding Emma’s eye when she looks up, latching on to something Rayna wishes she wouldn’t.

But then the blonde turns to Regina, kissing her fully once more, and Rayna knows any other possible future would have been wrong. This was the only way.

“May you always be satisfied,” she says once again before knocking back the champagne. 

* * *

 

**(emma)**

The reception is, as Ruby would say (and  _ does  _ say)  _ lit _ . 

Everyone is drinking and cheering, and Roni drags Emma away from her wife long enough to do a special toasting with the  _ squad _ (as… you guessed it, Ruby calls it).

Ruby laughs, drunker than the rest of them, and Emma gives her an amused look as she slings an arm around her shoulders and gestures to her using her beer. “If this douche can marry someone as hot as Regina,” (“ _ Wait, what _ ?!” Roni interrupts), “I’m sure I can too.”

Neal snorts, “Don’t you  _ have _ a girlfriend?” 

To that Ruby swings her hand to Neal, drink still in hand, in an attempt to put a finger to his lips. “That’s a secret.”

“Well, whatever, you’re one step ahead of me and Roni.”

“Please,” Roni scoffs. “I have something called priorities. Happy endings aren’t always about  _ love _ .”

“Ooh, are you jealous?” Emma teases. 

“As if.”

None of them notice Killian standing there until Roni accidentally shoves Emma into him, and the blonde’s face goes red. “Oh, hey, sorry about that,” she tells him.

“Sorry,” Roni repeats, but everyone knows she doesn’t mean it.

“We were just talking about how if Emma can get married, we all have a pretty good shot at it,” Ruby says with a wink. Killian looks shocked. “You have a girl too, don’t you, Jones?”

As soon as she mentions it, he turns away from Ruby, set on ignoring her. “Congratulations, Emma,” he says with a smile, genuine enough. “I didn’t want to leave without saying something to you personally.” 

Almost immediately, he turns to leave, and Emma frowns, reaching out for his arm and tugging him back. “Hey, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, you know? If you’d wanted to bring her, you could have.”

Killian gives her a blank stare as if he wants to deny the existence of  _ her _ , but as his shoulders relax, he shakes his head. “No, actually. It would have been…” he trails off, looking uncomfortable as Emma’s friends listen with wide eyes.

“Guys, don’t be so nosy,” Emma laughs. She waves them away before turning her attention to Killian. “You can trust me, you know. We’re friends.”

“I’m sure your wife is missing you…”

“She has friends too,” Emma shrugs glancing over at Regina, laughing by Zelena’s and Marian’s side. “You looking for advice? That’s a first,” Emma teases, and Killian snorts.

“I’m talking to Rumpelstiltskin’s ex-wife,” Killian bluntly states.

“Shit!” Emma exclaims. “Well, I mean still…  _ ex _ -wife,” she points out. “You may have a real chance.” Killian shrugs dismissively. “You should have brought her. You still can. There’s plenty of food and drinks for everyone, and I’m sure this party will be going on for a few more hours at least.”

Killian shakes his head. “I’m willing to wait for it. If we were meant to be together, I’m sure it’ll happen one day.” He smiles at Emma, and she looks back at him in confusion at the peace he expresses at the whole scenario. 

“We’re so different,” she laughs. “You want to wait, and I want to charge in.”

“You have nothing to lose,” Killian shrugs. “For you, it’s all uphill. It’s nonstop. I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

“You could find out.” Emma says. “You can still smile more without talking less.”

He gives another shrug. “I’ve made it this far, and waiting hasn’t hurt me, despite losing so much. The way I see it, I’m in control of myself, and if there’s a reason why I’ve gotten here, I can wait to end up elsewhere, whether it be leading our troops, in Milah’s arms, or dying in battle. Love doesn’t discriminate. Neither does life. Neither does death…” he shrugs again, a strange confidence in his eyes. “I think I’ll keep on as I have been. We all have our methods.”

Emma isn’t sure how to respond, but she gives Killian a validating nod. Regina appears beside her then, greeting Killian politely.

“It was a beautiful ceremony,” he tells them both. “I wish nothing but happiness for you both.”

“You too, Killian,” Emma calls after him as he heads out. He turns back to give a final wave to them before he slips from the door.


	6. stay alive

**(emma)**

The next six months are nothing short of rough, and no one is quite sure where they stand as a town in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes Rumpelstiltskin will leave them alone completely, resulting in lots of peace and quiet, but other times, he’s sending his people after them, or just going after them himself, insisting that he knows better.

Truth be told, they’d rather  _ him _ be there than his armies. 

Sometimes there are warnings, and sometimes there aren’t, but it doesn’t matter much because when they need help fighting Rumple, no one shows up. 

It makes Emma’s job difficult, for one thing. She’s the one who sends messages on Chief Nolan’s behalf, calling for people around town to fight, though she manages with some help. Roni calls on the place she considers home, Hyperion Heights. They help provide weapons, but it’s about all they can do. Rayna contacts her sister in Oz, and they help a little, but it’s never quite enough. However, as far as the rest of the realms go, there aren’t many options.

One day in her office, Mary Margaret lets out a deep sigh, shaking her head as she looks at the numbers Emma’s helped her calculate on a spreadsheet. “This won’t do.” She spends a while just staring down at them while Emma looks on with a frown, wishing there was something she could do. Suddenly Mary Margaret glances up at Emma, her eyes shining with something bolder than hope. It isn’t an expression the Chief usually makes, but Emma sees the same fire in the eyes of her and her friends, and it’s how she knows she’s on board before she can even hear the plan.

“What do you have in mind?” she asks, literally sitting on the edge of her seat.

“We don’t have enough resources to execute the strategies like we have been. There have been far too many failed attempts at sneaking through portals and trying to catch them when they’re waiting for us. Too many times where we’ve been too safe and too careful, and we’ve only been worse off because of it. We can’t think about it anymore. We’re just going to have to go in, full force. We need to be relentless. We need to attack when they’re least expecting it. We can’t afford to play nice anymore.”

“Yes!” Emma exclaims with a fist pump. “This is what I’ve been saying! We can’t give them any amount of advantage.” Chief Nolan gives her a firm nod. “And if you need me to, I can lead a group out there. I have what it takes to--”

“Emma, we’ve talked about this…”

“I know, but where I was from, I had to fight for my life every day. I had to sneak around places just to have a meal some days or a roof over my head some nights. But I managed to get a job there, and I managed to get out. Look, I can--”

“Emma.” The blonde falls silent, a defiant look in her eyes and a rumbling determination in her chest. It must be effective because Mary Margaret sighs. “We’ll see, okay?”

Over the next few weeks, they try a few fights, slipping quietly into the Enchanted Forest with no warning, coming up behind Rumpelstiltskin's men, making an attack before disappearing back through the portal. It works well enough.

“How do we know it’s  _ actually _ working?” Neal asks skeptically. “He hasn’t said anything to us in months. They’ve been making less attacks, sure, but how do we know that’s not just them forming their own strategy rather than responding to ours?”

Ruby smirks next to him. “My girlfriend keeps me informed.”

This seems to be news to everyone except Neal and Mary Margaret who just gives her a soft smile. Emma, on the other hand, has a hard time keeping her mouth closed. “Wait, what girlfriend?”

“Yeah, what girlfriend?” Roni repeats.

Ruby can’t keep a straight face as she talks about her, cheeks tinted pink and lips turned up. “We met in the Enchanted Forest. She’s undercover there right now, but whenever we win this fight, she’s gonna come here and move in with me,” she explains, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Her name is Belle.”

“Wait… Belle?” It’s Neal’s turn to be shocked. “I thought she was like…. My father’s mistress or something. She’s undercover?”

Ruby grins, “Yeah, she’s a badass. But as far as I know, they’ve never slept together. She just like, cleans up and keeps him company. So basically he tells her all kinds of stuff, and she reports it back to Chief Nolan.”

“That’s genius.”

“So our attacks are getting to him? We’re affecting his numbers? Sending him to a breaking point?”

Chief Nolan nods. “I think we’re getting close. We just need some more leaders,” she starts to explain, and immediately, Emma perks up. “I have one person who’s been leading up to a promotion lined up, at Henry’s request, and I think he’s a solid choice, more or less,” she mutters, avoiding Emma’s gaze.

“He?” the blonde says, her voice a mix of surprise and mild outrage.

“Greg Mendell,” Snow tells them. 

“Mendell?! Are you serious?” Emma gapes at Mary Margaret, who holds firm as she looks at her. Everyone else shifts a little uncomfortably. “Do you really think he can do the job?”

“Henry seems to think so.”

Emma scoffs. “And do  _ you _ ?”

“I trust Henry.”

It’s the end of the discussion, and Emma knows not to speak beyond the finality in her superior’s voice or the resoluteness in her eyes. Emma leaves the room, sure that all would be revealed in time but frustrated she has to lean on Killian’s strategy to wait for it. It doesn’t work for her.

One night, Emma and Neal end up in one of Mendell’s troops, setting out into the Enchanted Forest for another attack. Lately, Greg has been good about getting everyone out of the way in good time, and Emma begrudgingly has to admit that  _ maybe _ he isn’t the worst choice. ( _ But he isn’t the best either _ , she thinks bitterly.)

But this time when they go through the portal something feels off.

“Do you have a bad feeling about this too, or is it just me?” Neal whispers over to Emma as they tiptoe through the trees.

Emma casts him a wary glance in response.

The two of them make up the rear of the troop, as requested by Chief Nolan, so they can’t see the front as well as Emma would prefer, so when everyone starts shouting and the sound of swords slicing against bodies breaks the silence, Emma and Neal prepare their weapons to follow their troop into the attack.

Mendell has other plans.

“Get back! Everyone go back!” their leader’s voice suddenly shouts. Everyone is scuffling backwards, and instead of retreating as he asked, Emma grabs Neal by the arm and pulls them out of the way of their team escaping like cowards. 

“Mendell, what the fuck?” Emma shouts, grabbing him as he tries fleeing through the troop he should be leading. Not far away, Emma can see Rumple’s soldiers chasing after them, clearly prepared this time, and she shakes her head at Greg Mendell’s feared expression. “We’re not going to fight them? We’re just going to  _ run _ ?”

“Die if you want. I’d rather stay alive,” he says as he yanks his arm from Emma’s hold and continues to run. He calls everyone to follow his lead, and Emma and Neal have no choice but to follow, unable to fight an entire troop alone.

By the time the portal closes behind Emma, she’s shaking, and she charges over to Mendell, grabbing his arm even more aggressively than the last and spinning him around to face her. “What the fuck was that?” 

Greg scowls back at her, looking from her hand gripping his arm and back to her face with disdain before he yanks it back. He turns to walk away from her wordlessly without so much of a fight, prompting Emma to call after him, “You’re a coward.”

“Excuse me?” he sneers, turning back around.

“You heard me. You’re a coward. You refuse to fight when it’s necessary, you refuse to stand up for what’s right, and you refuse to defend yourself if it means more risk. You were given a job, and you can’t even do it.”

He laughs once, hollow and cold, and shakes his head. “At least I’m not an entitled, arrogant brown-noser who would never actually hold a rank without the Chief, who, by the way, is almost as much of an idiot as you, sending so many of us to fight enemy troops that are larger and more powerful. She’ll kill our whole town before we ever make it to freedom.”

It seems like luck, the way Mary Margaret approaches Greg from behind just before he starts talking. She catches every word and Emma grins, pleased with the turn of events. Chief Nolan demotes him before waving it off, and the blonde gapes at her.

“That’s it? He’s not… I don’t know…  _ fired _ ?”

“I made my decision, Emma. I’m going to have to ask that you stand by it. Just drop it. He isn’t worth your time,” she speaks to Emma in hushed tones.

“But--”

Chief Nolan silences her with a look as she heads back to City Hall. Emma huffs, at a loss. “Looks like I won,” Greg smirks.

“You got demoted,” Emma says. I’m not sure I’d call that winning.”

“At least I got promoted to begin with,” he mocks as he leaves with a shrug.

Neal eyes Emma, waiting for her to do anything, but she does nothing more than remain still with her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. Greg looks even more smug. “Emma, are we gonna let him get away with that?”

“You heard the Chief. I  _ have _ to,” she says through gritted teeth. 

“Well, I don’t,” Neal says, moving back towards Greg in long striders. For a moment it looks like he’s going to knock him out cold, but to Emma’s surprise, Neal stops Greg to mutter in his ear. The exchange is brief, and Neal turns away when Greg nods.“Come on, let’s go,” Neal says as he returns.

“Where?”

“Neverland.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

Neverland is a generally uneventful realm, at least overall. No one lives there because it’s nearly uninhabitable, at least for long periods of time. The Enchanted Forest likes to send kids there for summer camp, but Rumple doesn’t own the land.

No one really does. 

There’s a shadow that comes lurking about every so often as some kind of ruler. It allows for children to stay during designated times, but as for adults, the shadow is less gracious. 

The only reason any adult goes to Neverland is to have a duel.

Neverland has magic that can be borrowed long enough to go up against a challenger. It’s never anything especially great, but it gets the job done. It would be no different than someone who’d splurged and gotten a better weapon versus someone content with their standard option.

The portal that takes all members of the dueling party to Neverland is the same portal that brings them back. It doesn’t close during the duel, rather, it stays completely open, a reminder that a duel is just a sidestep. A temporary coping mechanism for a more permanent problem.

So duels go like this:

There’s the starting point. The moment where the concept of this particular duel comes to be, and it either becomes a duel or it becomes an apology.

It’s not usually an apology.

But you can’t go in it alone, so you’ll need a partner. A second to back you up. They’ll be a little more relevant later, but before they do anything, you settle a time and a place to open the portal, and then you go.

The portal will open and you step on through. Don’t flinch at the sight of the realm like Neal, don’t gaze at it in anything resembling awed reverence like Emma, don’t sneer at it like Killian, don’t react at all. 

The doctor will stand near the portal of your original realm. He’ll come when called, but otherwise he won’t stand in the realm, not unless he has to. While he stands out of sight, both challengers prepare their magic, either by taking the necessary burst from the shadow or preparing their own, and everything from that point on moves quickly. 

The seconds talk while the challengers take their positions, the last chance for negotiation before the main event, and if they can’t achieve peace, the duel proceeds. 

The rules for the duel are simple. You have your one burst of magic prepared in your hands, and you hold it there until the count starts. When the count to ten begins, so does the duel. Don’t back down, don’t look away. Hold your hands up, palms together if you decide not to strike. Hold both hands forward palms out and strike on the count of ten if you decide to make the hit.

It’s simple, primitive in a weird way, but somehow the most equal anything really feels. No one with magic has a normal advantage. It all comes down to what kind of person you want to be. 

_ Most disputes die and no one shoots. _

Neal readies his borrowed magic, and Greg Mendell does the same, wincing a little as he feels it rushing over his palms. Neal hates it just as much, but he doesn’t let it show. They nod to the doctor through the portal before he turns his back, and move to take their positions. 

Emma keeps her eyes on the ground as she walks forward, preparing to meet whoever Greg had chosen as his second. She’s surprised when she looks up and is face to face with Killian. She laughs a little, “Wow, I never thought I would see you here of all places.”

“Because I never come here. Duels are dumb and immature.”

“Valid,” Emma agrees. “I’ve never been in one, but I can’t imagine a situation where that would ever be me,” she comments, looking back at Neal. “But it’s not the kind of thing you can really predict. Sometimes people just ask for it, you know?”

“Sure,” Killian says, not sounding like he agrees with Emma at all, but is instead just looking for a way out. They’re clearly not going to agree on anything anytime soon. “So we’re doing this?”

“Looks like it,” Emma shrugs.

Everyone is in position within the minute and the count starts:

_ one _

_ two _

_ three _

_ four _

_ five _

_ six _

_ seven _

_ eight _

_ nine _

_ ten-- FIRE _

**(emma)**

There’s a small blast followed by a strangled noise and a string of whines that aren’t hard to identify as Greg Mendell. The doctor rushes in like someone’s just been hit square in the chest, but Neal’s burst had only hit the man on the shoulder.

Killian walks away, scowling as if embarrassed, and Emma and Neal high five. “Nice job, Neal.” He shrugs as they follow Killian out of the portal. Greg is limping out, clutching the doctor like he can’t bear to stand, but everyone knows these bursts of magic are next to nothing unless you’re hit somewhere fatal.

“You think so?” Neal says with an unsure glance at Mendell.

“I’m satisfied,” Emma shrugs.

“Looks like not everyone is,” Killian adds, suddenly in front of them, stopped with his eyes trained forward with an amused expression as he looks back at them. Emma doesn’t know what his point it, but she figures it out soon enough as she meets Mary Margaret’s fiery gaze across the street.

“Oh no.”

“You’re about to get it,” Killian sing songs.

“Killian!” Mary Margaret barks first and the man stands at attention, his eyes wide and surprised. Emma has to remind herself not to laugh, that he’s only the one she’s yelling at first. “Get Greg to the hospital.”

“Yes, Chief.”

She turns to Greg who looks up at her as if begging for pity, but she doesn’t give him any. “Your time with us is over. You’re fired.”

Emma does a small fist pump at her side that Neal smirks at before Mary Margaret regards him with only a nod. When she’s facing Emma, the blonde is grinning, most everyone having been dismissed. 

Her face falls when Mary Margaret doesn’t reciprocate her grin and instead says. “Meet me inside.” She spins on the spot to head into her office, and Emma looks helplessly at Neal, nearly as shocked as she is.

“You better go,” he says. “Sorry if I got you in trouble.”

Emma just gives him a blank look before slowly following the Chief inside and hoping for the best, but when she starts, “Sweetie--” Emma doesn’t maintain her high hopes.

“Don’t treat me like a kid.”

Mary Margaret brushes her off, “Our fight is already a struggle. We don’t need you starting fights among the already small number of people we have on our side.”

“But Greg--”

“No,” Mary Margaret interrupts. “You’re not helping.”

“Maybe we could have if Neal had taken a different shot,” the blonde mumbles.

“Emma…”

“Don’t  _ Emma _ me.”

“Don’t disrespect me,” Mary Margaret fires back. “Look, I know you think you were doing the right thing, but I don’t need your defense.”

“Do you even know what he said about you? He’s not even the only one. People drag you on Twitter all the time, and it’s meant to hurt. They think--”

“I don’t care what they think!” Mary Margaret exclaims, exasperated. “If I couldn’t handle this position I wouldn’t have it.”

“At this point, I doubt it has anything to do with earning the positions!” Emma shouts back. Mary Margaret frowns at her. “You’ve worked up to this. You have a large following. You’ve proven you can do it. But me? I don’t have any of that. No one knows who I am. I have a handful of people who believe in me, but that’s  _ it _ . If you were to trust me... If you were to do what no one else will, put me in a position to lead, I could rise above my station--”

“Or you could die, and we need you alive,” Mary Margaret.

Emma challenges back. “You think I’m not willing to die?” 

“Your  _ wife _ needs you alive. Emma, I need you alive.”

“I don’t  _ care _ !” she cries out. “Why can’t you just  _ fucking _ trust me?”

They stare at each other, level for a long moment, unwavering until Mary Margaret finally breaks the glance. “Emma, you need to go home. Take a break. You can’t push yourself like this.”

Her voice is so gentle that Emma can do nothing but softly respond, “But--”

“Go home,” Mary Margaret repeats. “I’ll be in touch, alright?”

Emma gapes at her for a moment before deciding maybe she  _ should _ go. “I’m not...” she swallows before she can finish the question, and fortunately, Mary Margaret knows what she’s going to ask.

“No. You’re not fired, Emma, but I need you to take it down a notch. You’re too stressed, you’re too volatile. I want you to make it, Emma, I really do, but this isn’t the way.”


	7. history has its eyes on you

**(emma)**

When the door to the small apartment opens, Regina squeals a little as she runs the short distance to the door, jumping into her wife’s arms. Emma laughs and kisses her, just once before pulling back to admire her. “I love coming home to you, you know that?”

“Is that so?” the brunette grins, kissing her once more.

“Yes!” Emma laughs through a smile. “You make me so happy, Regina. I swear I could be having just… the worst day, and you’ll never fail to brighten it one hundred percent and more.”

Regina beams back at her as the blonde sets her back on her feet, bringing their lips together once more before she pulls back with a frown. “ _ Are _ you having the worst day?”

There’s a moment of hesitation before Emma smiles back at her, and when she does, it’s a little too forced to be real. “Not anymore.”

“Emma…” Regina takes her by the hand and leads her to the couch, pulling her down and curling into her before continuing. “You can be honest with me, you know. You make me indescribably happy, both in your good moments, and your bad. You’re enough, Emma. So please, if you’ve had a bad day, you don’t have to hold back around me. I’m here for you, alright? I’m really happy you made it back safely.” She kisses Emma once again, and after a moment, the blonde relents with a sigh.

She hasn’t been back in a few days, at least not long enough to have moments like this, so being in Regina’s arms once again is an extreme relief. She falls into her embrace, but her leg still jiggles up and down restlessly. “I’m sorry,” she mutters. “You’ve been worried about me, and I haven’t been around. Now, we’re finally together, and I can’t find it in me to be completely stress-free.”

“Hey…” Regina rests a palm against Emma’s face. “You’re here. That’s enough, okay? Besides, it’s not just that you haven’t been here. Our schedules are a little incongruent,” she points out. “I love you.”

Emma grins, “How did I get so lucky?”

In response, Regina just kisses her again. “So,” she sing-songs. “I have news. Do you want to tell me about your day first, or should I?”

“Um, is it good news? Maybe we should save the best for last?” Emma suggests. Regina’s smile is hardly contained as she nods, prompting her wife to continue as she launches into the story of last night, from Greg’s rash leadership and cowardice, to Neal’s duel and the aftermath of the event, to Emma’s ordered leave.

Regina listens with a straight face, nodding at the right times, her hand on Emma’s arm while she talks, and when the story is finally concluded, the brunette offers her wife a smile. “She may have a point, you know. Sometimes breaks are necessary to clear your mind. When you go back, you’ll see the difference the time off has made, even if it’s hard to imagine now.”

Emma shrugs, still looking put out.

“Trust me. Take my schedule, for instance. You know my schedule, yeah? I love teaching, but it’s so much for months. By the end of the year, I sometimes feel so worn down it’s like I don’t want to even come back the next year, but then summer break comes around and I find time to breathe again. To relax. Then when the next year starts, I feel like I’ve been refreshed. That’s what this time off can be, alright?”

There’s a pause where Emma just frowns down at her lap, unsure of the whole concept, but eventually she nods hesitant, smiling over at her wife. “Thanks, Gina.” 

“You’re welcome,” she tells her, leaning over until their lips meet once again.

“So what’s your news?” Regina’s face goes from soft and comforting to blissfully overjoyed in only seconds, and Emma finds herself unable to do anything but smile back, the look contagious and her wife simply radiant. “What?” Emma asks, her heart rate picking up as she becomes almost giddy with anticipation.

“I’m pregnant,” Regina says, her voice higher pitched with excitement.

Emma’s jaw drops, but the smile doesn’t. “What!”

“Yeah,” Regina beams, beside herself with excitement. Emma laughs before she tugs Regina close to her until they’re  toppling all the way down on the couch, Regina’s eyes shining brightly down on Emma. Her lips brush against the blonde’s and it’s like another spark has ignited.

It’s the same one that’s always been there, but stronger, like their relationship has blossomed a whole new meaning. They’re going to be starting a family. They’re going to have a mini them coming into the world, a whole new person to love and a whole new reason to fight.

They indulge each other for another few moments, Emma’s hand brushing softly through dark hair, the other on the small of her back, holding her close. Regina’s fingers graze the back of Emma’s neck as their kisses become lazy, interrupted by small smiles until they pull away. Regina kisses the tip of Emma’s nose.

“I can’t believe we’re having a baby.”

“Magic does have its perks,” Regina points out with a raise of her eyebrows.

Emma lets out a light snort, her face falling only slightly. “You’re right. It can really be amazing, but…”

“Emma…” Regina admonishes. “You don’t need to think about work right now, remember?”

“Yeah, I just…” Emma sighs deeply, closing her eyes and trying to lose herself in the feeling of Regina against her, the thought that she would soon have a tiny baby to help take care of and look out for. She couldn’t just forget that a growing baby came with a nine month deadline, and if she wanted the world to be a great place, free from the Enchanted Forest and safe from the wrong kinds of magic, she needed to get back to work and make it happen. “I’m worried I won’t have this town ready for when our baby gets here,” she softly admits.

“Emma,” Regina starts, her voice serious as she sits up to meet her wife’s gaze. “Look at where we are. We’ve come a long way. Us as individuals, us as a couple, this town… We’re so lucky to be here in this moment, together, starting a family. There’s always going to be progress that needs made, but for now, just being here is enough.”

Her wife falls into silence for a long moment, her green eyes filling with tears that she’s clearly holding back. Her forehead is creased in worry, and she closes her eyes before the tears can finish forming. When she shakes her head and opens her eyes again, they’re gone, but she still looks concerned. The hope resides in that look somewhere, and Regina offers a validating smile to bring it out a little more, but it doesn’t cease Emma’s stubborn pout.

“What if I can’t protect him?”

“Him?” Regina grins.

“Or her…” Emma adds. Regina watches her face slowly start to relax as the mood changes and her wife’s eyes brighten again at the thought in her mind. “But I kind of hope it’s a little boy. I can just imagine him running around a big yard, trying to kick a soccer ball and tumbling over it into the grass instead, getting grass stains all over his clothes, but he doesn’t care ‘cause he’s happy, and we don’t care ‘cause we’re happy.” Regina’s lips graze against Emma’s neck before she nuzzles closer, listening to Emma talk about how she imagines their baby coming out with a head of hair, dark like Regina’s, maybe with Emma’s eyes, and being just the sweetest thing. “I don’t think he’ll cry that much.”

“Why not?” Regina laughs. “You’re his mother after all.”

“Hey! And you are too, so keep that in mind.”

Her wife laughs and shifts on the couch to kiss Emma before leaning back to run her fingers in soft, blonde hair. “What should we name him? Or her... ”

Emma hums in thought, tracing soft circles on the bare skin at Regina’s waist. “Well if our baby is a boy… What if we named him Henry? After your father,” she suggests, looking nervous after having said it, but the way Regina lights up at the idea washes all the worries about the thought away.

“Henry,” Regina repeats, her smile growing. “I like it. What if its a girl?”

Emma’s face scrunches, “Well, we’re not naming her after your mother. I still can’t believe she didn’t come to our wedding. And anyway, I’m pretty sure it’s a boy.”

“Oh, pretty sure, huh?” Regina asks, kissing Emma’s neck once, then twice, moving towards her jawline.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” she says with a smug grin.

* * *

 

**(mary margaret)**

After Emma goes on temporary leave, Mary Margaret is left with the decision of who should take her place in their fight for freedom. There’s plenty of options, and she isn’t surprised when she finds Killian’s updated resume in her mailbox; however, she’s already made her choice.

Roni is the only one she finds qualified enough to fill Emma’s shoes, making it so that the loss is not felt as strong as it would have been had anyone else been selected for the position.

“Me?” Roni asks her, a little surprised, though not unconfident. “I’m flattered, but are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Mary Margaret affirms. “Other than family, you have no obligations to help us fight, but you’re here anyway, in a place you don’t consider home, standing by us nonetheless. I would be honored to have you by my side until Emma’s return.”

“When will that be?”

“When she’s ready.”

Roni raises a brow. “Or when  _ we’re _ ready.”

The younger woman turns out to have the more accurate estimate for when Emma’s going to be needed back. Everyone knows that Emma  _ wants _ to come back. She doesn’t have much going on while Regina goes to work other than wait, which she hates doing. 

**(emma)**

“How do you stand this?” she asks Killian one day when they grab lunch, and all he does is chuckle in response. “I mean, I can still read and write to pass the time, but it’s hard to plan when so much of the future is unknown. How much longer do you think I need to wait?”

He shrugs. “You’ll hear from Chief Nolan when she wants you back. Just be patient.”

Emma groans, “I’m going to the gym.”

Most of the next few months are filled with a lot of fighting, a good bit of it happening across realms, but given the circumstances with a pregnant wife in town, Emma can’t say she minds not being active in the fight.

Roni is leading everyone in Emma’s dream position, but she’s proud of her, as is Regina. “I know you want it to be you, Emma, but I’m glad you’re right here right now.” Green eyes shine as they smile at her. “Do you think you’ll still be here when the baby comes?”

“I’d like to be, but I don’t know,” she admits. “If I can’t be… if I have to go back out to fight, I promise I won’t let anything happen to me. I can’t wait to meet our baby boy,” she says, crouching town to press a kiss to Regina’s growing stomach. “One more month,” she whispers.

**(roni)**

It’s then that things start to get really rough for everyone else. Roni continues trying to find more help for their side, visiting as many other realms as she can. Zelena continues to provide some people willing to help and her own town across the country provides more weapons and supplies. It’s good, but it’s not enough, and it frustrates Roni to no end when her own mother refuses to send any aid from Wonderland. 

“You know I’ll be back one day to help, dear,” she scowls. “Maybe if you were to ask nicely, I’d be more willing to help you.”

“Fuck off,” Roni growls before walking back to the portal she’d spent hours trying to conjure up just to get there. She swings open the door to Chief Nolan’s office and slams it closed before slouching in a chair across from the leader’s desk. “Well that was a bust,” she scoffs. “She said she’d be here to help one day. I can only hope I’m back home by then so I don’t have to deal with her.”

“She’s a tough one,” Mary Margaret adds with a sigh. “Helpful though, when she wants to be.”

“When it suits her you mean,” Roni corrects. “Look, I know you wanted to give Emma a lot of time, but it’s been more than six months. I think we’re managing alright without her, but I also think we’re getting really close to fighting a battle bigger than any of these others. All we need is one shot, high risk, putting forth all our effort and anyone willing to take a stand. If we just go all in, one last time, I think we can win this.”

Mary Margaret pauses as she frowns at her desk, lost in thought before meeting Roni’s determined gaze once more. “I hope you’re right about this,” she says.

“It’s almost time,” Roni affirms. “They’ve been getting weaker, fighting less. I think Rumpelstiltskin is reaching a breaking point. Or at least, he’s running out of patience with us. It’s only a matter of time before he doesn’t think the cost of the fight is worth it. If we go in like we have been but stronger, if we keep going even if it takes a turn for the worse, I think the risk will pay off.”

“The cost of the fight won’t be too high a price for us?”

“If what we get is freedom…” Roni shrugs. “People know what the price to pay is. It’s the same as it’s always been.”

“Dying is easy,” Chief Nolan mutters.

The other woman agrees with a nod. “Living is harder.” It’s a sobering moment, acknowledging that this fight may soon be coming to an end, they can hope. The next step will be the most difficult thing they’ve faced, for everyone in Storybrooke, as well as Roni on her return to Hyperion Heights, but they’re confident they can make it, no matter what happens.

“Help round up as many people as you can. I’m going to talk to Emma.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

When Emma hangs up the phone, she’s a mix between elated and nervous. Chief Nolan is asking her back, with a whole explanation that she and Roni are sure it’ll take just one more big fight until they’ve made it. It’s unfathomable that the goal they’ve been working toward could be right around the corner, but it couldn’t be better timing. Henry would be here soon.

She’s nervous as she sets the phone down and makes her way to curl up next to her wife. Regina leans against her. “I’m so ready to have this baby,” she says almost a whine. “I’m tired of being pregnant.”

“You’ve almost made it, babe. And then our little boy will be in our arms,” she says as she leans down to kiss her.

“It’ll be worth it.” Regina smiles into the kiss. They slip into an easy pattern, soft brushes as their mouths move together, peeking tongues, hands stroking softly over each other’s bodies. Emma moves more purposefully, as if this is the last time she’ll ever be kissing Regina. It isn’t lost on her wife, and she pulls back to meet Emma’s eyes, tilting her face back the minute she looks away. “Hey… Emma, what’s wrong?”

She looks away for a moment before settling her eyes on dark brown, letting out a sigh before she admits, “I have to go back.”

Regina’s brow furrows. “Was that Mary Margaret on the phone?”

“Yeah,” Emma nods, turning her head downcast as Regina’s hand drops. She fiddles with a loose thread on Regina’s pants, a distraction while her wife processes the information. “I don’t want to leave you, but they need me.” 

A small desperate sound escapes Regina’s lips, and Emma can’t keep her eyes off her wife anymore. She presses a palm to her cheek and kisses her once before she says, “I made you a promise, Regina. Nothing’s going to happen to me. Mary Margaret seems to believe that this next fight could be our last. I have to go so we’ll be prepared, so the cost won’t be so high.”

“You mean the death rate…”

Emma takes Regina’s hand then. “I know it’s scary. But Roni believes we can do it. I want to do this. I want to fight for you, for our son, for our future kids…” she gives her wife a watery smile. “We’re going to have a beautiful family. Just you wait.”

It takes a long, convincing gaze to reassure Regina. “You know I trust you, Emma, but there’s a lot of people I don’t trust who will be fighting alongside you. Not to mention everyone we’re against. I can’t help but worry.”

“I understand, Regina, believe me. Your fears are valid, but I promise I’ll be back home to you, safe and in one piece.”

Regina sighs, “That’s not exactly something you can promise, Emma. No matter how hard you try, that’s not something you have any control over.”

“Death doesn’t discriminate,” Emma mutters, remembering Killian’s words at the wedding reception. “If I’ve made it this far… if we’ve been this lucky, I’m not worried about where we’re going.”

Regina looks a little less sure, but she nods nonetheless. "Just stay alive, okay?” she asks as she presses her lips to Emma’s. “That would be enough."

* * *

 

**(emma)**

Mary Margaret smiles at Emma when she sets foot in her office for the first time in months. “I’m glad to have you back,” she says, nodding and smiling, and it’s clear she’s excited on a personal level and proud on a professional level, and Emma returns a similar expression.

“So you think we’re almost close, huh?”

Chief Nolan nods. “Roni and I have been discussing it for a while now. If we can gather up the right people, get enough help from Hyperion Heights and Oz, we should be able to make this work. One more fight. One last time.”

“I hope you’re right,” Emma agrees as she takes her usual seat across from Mary Margaret. “So, Chief… what do you need me to do?”

A single beat passes. “I need you to lead.” Another beat passes, this one heavier, seemingly longer than the last as the weight of the words sinks in, affecting the atmosphere. 

“You do?” Emma asks, unsure with an excitement that only grows when her mentor nods. 

“You feel up for it?”

“Hell yes!” Emma exclaims, a breathy laugh following. “I’ve been waiting for this moment. Like everything so far has led me here…”

Chief Nolan looks away, her hands wringing together before her eyes meet green. “Listen, Emma. I know this is something you’ve been working toward, but I want you to see this from more than just your own ambitious perspective.” Emma frowns. “You know I admire that quality in you. It’s by far one of your best attributes, but remember what I told you? About dying? And living?”

Emma nods, “I know. But what--”

Mary Margaret holds up a hand. “Hear me out for a minute, alright? I was young like you once, and I wanted the same things as you. We have a lot in common, Emma, whether you see it or not, but one of the biggest differences between us is that when I was young like you, I didn’t have anyone there to guide me. There was no one who had been where I was or who was going where I was going, so I did a lot of learning the hard way. There were a lot of mistakes that I both made and witnessed, and I want to be here for you to ensure you don’t have to go through the hardships that I did.”

Emma nods warily, focussed completely on Mary Margaret’s words. 

“I know you know this, to some extent, but there are a lot of things out of your control. You can try to stay alive, but that doesn’t mean you will. You can try to keep others from dying, but that doesn’t mean you can save them. You will always lose people, and someday people will lose you, whether it be tomorrow or sixty years from now. And when you’re gone, you’ll have no more control over anything. Ever. Anything you leave behind, your legacy, will be up for interpretation, based on who tells your story.”

“But how can I be sure I make a difference?”

Snow smiles softly. “Just be you, Emma. History has its eyes on you.”

_ The world will never be the same. _


	8. the world turned upside down

**(emma)**

When Emma walks into the city hall auditorium, she’s surprised at how excited Roni is to see her. “Jesus, woman, calm down. I’ve never seen you smile this much and to be honest, it’s kind of creeping me out.” Roni’s expression shifts into humored annoyance, and Emma nods in approval. “That’s much better. Besides, it’s not like we haven’t seen each other. We’re basically family.”

“Basically? You knocked up my sister…”

“We’re married!” 

Roni smirks. “I’m just messing with you, Swan. It’s good to have you back. We’re really gonna need you for this.”

Emma nods, regarding the room. It’s filling up with everyone able and willing to help with this battle, hopefully the last, though no one will know for sure until it’s over. “So what  _ is _ the plan?”

“In general?”

Emma laughs, “Yeah, what else would I mean?”

“Well, I thought you might like to know what my plans are when this is over, and we’ve won--”

“Hopefully won,” Emma corrects.

“ _ Hopefully _ won,” Roni repeats with a roll of her eyes. “Anyway, after this, I’m gonna head back to Hyperion Heights, put all my energy and resources there, and do it again.”

“Think that’ll go well?” 

Roni shrugs once, a cocky grin on her face. “What do you think? I didn’t get this position the easy way.” Emma laughs and nods in agreement. “Anyway, so in general, we have everyone here that will be divided into troops, and we’ll divy up the sections.. You’ll have one, I’ll have one, Neal will, and Ruby will. There’s a few smaller groups and subgroups, but I won’t bore you with those details. Half of us will go through portals into the Enchanted Forest entering in different places. The rest of the troops will stay in Storybrooke, waiting at other locations where it’s likely an enemy portal will open. We need to be ready for the inevitable attacks here. If anything changes, Chief Nolan will alert us on it before redirecting as necessary.”

Emma takes it all in, continuing to glance around the room, wondering what her troop will look like and where they will be located at. Her eyes lock with Mary Margaret’s across the room, and the woman greets her with a nod. “Seems solid,” she responds back to Roni. “What about protection for everyone staying in town, not fighting?”

The other woman’s expression becomes more concerned as she glances away. “We don’t have a lot of options. You know that Rumpelstiltskin has control over our magic distribution limits, and we need all we have directed towards fighting. We won’t be able to protect anyone… not really.”

Emma tenses. “When are we going to battle?” 

“Tomorrow,” Roni answers with a wince. “Why? Is it about Regina? And the baby? I’m sure she’d be alright with going to Oz for the time being. Schools are shut down anyway, and she won’t have anyone else to look after her. Zelena would approve of the plan and protect her and the baby.”

“Yeah, I’d just feel a lot better if she weren’t in harm’s way, especially since she’s pregnant, and we won’t be able to protect her very well.”

“I can help you arrange for Regina to seek refuge in Oz, but we’ve got to get this meeting started. Mary Margaret has a lot to go over. Most people here aren’t familiar with this side of everything.”

“Alright, so where do I…?”

“We’ll be onstage so that everyone in our teams knows who we are if they don’t already. You’re going to have about thirty people under you, as well as a second and a third. If you feel better dividing subgroups, you can do ten, ten, and ten, or fifteen and fifteen, depending on how you want to lead and who your second and third are.”

It turns out that Emma’s second is Killian, and her third is David, much to her surprise. He gives her a gentle smile, and she can’t help but wonder if he has it in him to be brutal in a fight. “My wife’s talked a lot about you,” he says, shaking her hand. “I can’t believe it’s taken us so long to meet.”

“It’s a pleasure” Emma smiles, returning the handshake, “And an honor to fight by your side.” 

“The honor’s all mine.”

Mary Margaret eyes them across the room and gives them both a warm smile, but her eyes linger on David for longer. He looks back at her with obvious heart eyes, and it’s such a sweet moment to witness that Emma almost forgets Killian is beside her.

“So,” he suddenly says, making Emma jump. “How do you want to split us up?” 

She shrugs, “I guess the ten, ten and ten plan works for me. That way none of us get too overwhelmed.”

Killian cocks his head, and she can see the challenge in his eyes before he even says anything, “Well, you’re still leading over us all. Wouldn’t fifteen and fifteen be more efficient?”

“Maybe, but I said ten, ten and ten. So that’s what we’re sticking with until further notice, alright?” Killian scowls a little but otherwise says nothing. David just pleasantly agrees.

“My wife trusts you, which means I do too, Emma,” he smiles. Emma gives his shoulder a solid pat before she makes her way to regroup with the other leaders. 

“Alright,” Mary Margaret starts, “tomorrow before dawn is when we’re heading out, so after this meeting, I encourage you all to get as much sleep as possible. I expect all of you to be here earlier than the rest of our troops. Roni and Emma, you’ll both start out in Storybrooke. Neal and Ruby, you’ll be in the Enchanted Forest.” Emma’s face falls slightly at the decision, but she trusts Chief Nolan and nods reluctantly. Mary Margaret can see right through it. “Emma, notice I said  _ start out _ . We don’t know what will happen, but if you’re worried about missing the action, I can assure you that you won’t miss anything.” She turns to address all of them once again, “Remember, this is going to be bigger than any fight yet, and unlike others before, we aren’t planning on retreating. We stop when they surrender or when I tell you to.”

“Do you think you will?” Neal asks.

“Only if the cost becomes too high a price. Otherwise, we keep going.” Neal opens his mouth as if to ask another question, but Mary Margaret cuts him off. “I’ll decide if the cost is too high. Everyone here knows what they’re getting themselves into. They know, just as  _ you  _ do,” she emphasizes to all of them with a raise of her eyebrows, “That life is not guaranteed.”

“Death doesn’t discriminate,” Emma contributes as she glances at Killian across the room, looking nervous. 

Mary Margaret nods. “Exactly. We’re going into this with all we have ‘til the world turns upside down.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

On the way out, Killian stops Emma, his hand brushing lightly in her arm, and she turns to him with a worried expression. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I just… your wife is pregnant, right?”

Emma laughs, “You know she is. You’ve seen her around…”

The man shifts impatiently, “Yeah, I was just breaching the conversation. Anyway,” he shakes his head before seeking her eyes with his. “You know Milah is also pregnant?” Emma nods slowly. “I just was wondering about protection.”

“You clearly didn’t use it,” Emma laughs. Killian looks a little lost before he catches on, though he doesn’t laugh along with her. “Sorry, but I couldn’t resist the joke. I know what you mean. You want her to be safe while this fight happens?”

He nods, “What’s Regina going to do?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’m going to talk to her about going to Oz and staying with her sister, then when the fight is over, I’ll bring her back.”

“Do you think Milah could go with her? Her only family is in the Enchanted Forest, which… well, given our history and the circumstances, that would be worse than staying here, no matter where the fight ends up.”

Emma breathes a humorless laugh, scuffing her boots in the ground, “You’ve got that right. I’ll see what I can do, alright? If I can send her off tonight, I will, so I can come by your place and you and Milah can go with me. But if Regina doesn’t go, I don’t know what I’ll tell you.” Killian’s face falls. “But she  _ will _ be going, I’m pretty sure of that. We both want what’s best for the baby, so I’m sure she’ll hear me out.”

But when she presents the idea to Regina, telling her the entirety of the plan, her wife looks more bothered than anything. 

“I don’t like the way any of this sounds. You and my sisters are going to be fighting a battle across realms that’s so dangerous you don’t even want me in the same realm?” She scoffs a little, shaking her head, even though it’s clear by her expression that she’s considering it. “I don’t like this,” she says again, but her expression isn’t totally set. She glances nervously up at Emma, worrying her bottom lip as if to hold back a thought.

“But…?” Emma prompts.

Her wife shoots her a long and intimidating glare, her arms crossing tightly over her chest before she lets out a heavy breath. “I’ll do it. But I’m absolutely  _ not _ doing this for you. I’m only doing it for the baby.”

“That’s my stubborn girl,” Emma says, grinning despite how irritated her wife looks, and she pulls her close, kissing her face and her neck until she has the brunette smiling. She pulls away with an un-Regina-like giggle, almost a shriek, and holds Emma back with her palm flat against the blonde’s chest. “You were tickling me. That’s cheating,” but Emma only laughs, taking her hand and easing her back into her embrace. She wraps her arms around Regina’s waist and pulls her close, nuzzling into dark hair, soaking in every moment.

“I’m going to miss you,” she mumbles.

“Regina sighs, her head resting on Emma’s shoulder. “I hope this doesn’t take as long as everyone seems to think it will. I hope that before we know it, you’re coming back to Oz to bring me back home. I hope that not long after, we’ll have both freedom, and our baby boy in our arms, all gurgling smiles and poopy diapers that I’m going to make you change.”

Emma doesn’t protest, instead she pulls Regina closer, chuckling just a little as if to combat the tears filling her eyes. “I’m gonna be thinking of you the whole time. Of you and our baby. You’re both my reasons to live, and my reasons to fight. I want to make this world the best I can so that we can raise our family here, without having to worry about any kind of oppression from Rumple’s realm, or any other for that matter.”

“I know you’ll be able to do it,” Regina says. She pulls back to meet Emma’s eyes as they both blink back tears. Her hands loop around the blonde’s neck, her thumbs brushing just under the hairline. Emma grins at her. 

“I love you, Regina Mills.”

“And I love you, Emma Swan.” 

They share a final lingering kiss before Emma grabs Regina’s bag, takes her wife by the hand, and leads her to Killian’s place for Milah. Not long after, they open a portal to Oz to send their wives to safety. Emma’s surprised to see tears in Killian’s eyes when she turns to bid him goodnight. 

“Thank you, by the way,” he says, brushing his tears off with his hand. “Don't tell anyone about this,” he tries to joke, but Emma can’t blame him for crying. She’s sure that’ll be her as soon as she climbs into an empty bed.

“You’re allowed to cry,” she tells him. “But your secret is safe with me. They’ll be alright, okay?”

“And us?” Killian asks.

Emma freezes at the question, wondering if she should repeat his own words back to him or not. There’s nothing comforting about  _ death doesn’t discriminate _ , so instead she says, “If there’s a reason you’re still alive now…” trailing off, and he gives her a soft smile. “There’s always a reason remember? Maybe there’s a reason you’ll make it through. You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Thanks,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Emma says with a nod as he closes his door behind him.

She makes the long walk home, hoping she’ll be able to get some sleep tonight in spite of her nerves about tomorrow and without Regina by her side.

* * *

 

**(emma)**

As predicted, the night is long and restless. Emma tosses and turns, her arms wrapped around Regina’s pillow as she buries her face into it, hoping that her wife’s scent will calm her. She usually sleeps naked, but tonight she’s opted to wear Regina’s pajamas, another hopeful method to calm her, but she thinks the layers end up sabotaging her sleep.

Though, it wouldn’t have mattered either way.

The next morning (too early to even be considered “morning”), Emma makes her coffee to go and trudges her way to city hall to help with preparations. It feels like nothing has been accomplished by the time everyone else shows up, but the consensus that comes from the chatter all around them is more or less that there’s no real way to be prepared for a battle this large, this ambitious, yet this unpredictable.

What counts is that they have the numbers, they have the supplies, and they have the drive to do what needs to be done. There are multiple strategies and goals, and Mary Margaret is ready to take charge. She’s going to be leading from the Enchanted Forest, overseeing everything there, leaving Emma and Roni taking over in Storybrooke unless something goes wrong. 

They hope nothing will go wrong.

The ordeal starts out as well as anyone could have hoped. The portals open smoothly and quietly as they sneak through, undetected until the first strike. Initially, everything remains in the Enchanted Forest until, without warning, a group of Rumpelstiltskin’s men appear on main street, while a fleet of ships show up at the harbor, leaving Roni’s and Emma’s troops with no choice but to split up. 

“Killian! We need to get to your ship!” Emma shouts, directing her own troop to the harbor, while Roni stays behind with hers to fight off the attackers on main street. Emma doesn’t look back as she runs toward the docks, and she tries not to notice that her numbers have already dropped by the time she gets there.

She shouts out commands, and Killian takes over with the cannons. It reminds Emma a lot of her first battle in Storybrooke, and she approaches it the same as she did then, taking a risk by sending some of her team to the enemy ships to make it impossible for them to fight, giving their side as much power as possible. 

Eventually the ships retreat, and Emma has no doubt they’ll be returning with more weapons. She regroups her team for a pep talk, reminding them of what they have to fight for before they all have to scatter and prepare for the next wave of ships. They attack with twice as many weapons this time, but there’s no way Emma’s troops will be able to get away with stealing their weapons a second time.

“Swan!” Killian shouts from the ship. “What do we do?”

They’re getting hit left and right, and Emma isn’t totally sure  _ what  _ to do. She looks to David, thinking something over, and she gives a reassuring nod to prompt him before he softly admits, “What if we were to open portals into their realm just before the cannonballs reach us?”

Emma worries her lip for a moment before she slowly starts to nod, “That could work, but I’d be worried we would hit some of our own fighting over there.”

“Not if we open them in the right places,” David points out.

So they try it, and it’s effective enough for the enemy ships to leave for a last time. Emma’s sure they won’t come back with a way to combat the portal strategy. “Come on!” Emma shouts to her troop as she leads them back to where Roni’s fight is still going on right in the middle of main street. “We’ve got to move this fight somewhere else,” Emma tells everyone. She nods to Roni who seems to be thinking the same thing, and as the sound of swords clashing echoes through the air, they start maneuvering Rumple’s men towards the woods, away from civilians. A few arrows have already missed, gone towards buildings, and a few shots have crashed through glass. They can only hope none of them wreaked havoc on any innocents.

It’s clear everyone is getting tired, on both sides of the fight. For a moment, it looks like if they keep pushing, keep fighting, Rumple’s men will retreat entirely, but there’s another wave of them out of nowhere, replacing the ones they’d spent all that time wearing out. Orders are being shouted through the air by so many people it’s hard to keep track, and Emma’s holding back, looking at the scene in front of her, trying to adapt the new circumstances into a new strategy. Before she can think of an adequate way out, someone she recognizes from Neal’s team calls out to her from a few meters away.

Time seems to stop as she makes her way over there carefully, nodding at Roni to take the lead while she’s receiving the message. “Chief Nolan needs you in the Enchanted Forest immediately,” he tells her, speaking through heavy breaths, his eyes despairing. Emma glances helplessly at the fight happening beside them, and she opens her mouth to speak but the man shakes his head. “Not them. Just you.”

Her chest is heavy as she considers what triggered this, and she calls out to Roni, to Killian, and their expressions fall as well, knowing that someone important has been lost to them, but they push it back as the fight goes on. Emma struggles as she follows the man through the portal he’d conjured around the corner, not prepared to gauge the cost on the other side.

The fight seems worse over there, which was to be expected. The level of magic was raised, which meant more power, more stamina, and it was lucky that they had Belle on the inside to drain Rumple’s resources. Her plan was to steal the Dark One dagger and use it against him, not to force him to surrender, but to alter the dynamics of the fight, unevenly dispersing magic so that Chief Nolan and all her troops would have the upper hand. 

It had worked, but at a cost, and as Emma approached the Chief to find out what she needed her to do, she saw the cost of their strategy, lying motionless on the pathway near Rumple’s castle. “No…” Emma mutters, starting to run towards Neal’s body. “No!” she shouts again, and Mary Margaret has to grab her arms, holding her back. 

“Emma, you can’t get distracted right now. I need you to focus.”

The blonde lets out a dry sob, shaking her head. “He was my best friend. I wasn’t supposed to let him down, and now--”

“No, stop,” Mary Margaret demands. “You couldn’t have saved him. No one could have. Emma, look at me…” she holds her hands firmly on Emma’s shoulders. “Belle has the dagger. Rumple knew that someone did. He went after his son, believing he was to blame. By the time Belle realized, it was too late. But she has the dagger still. We’re in control. We only have to hold out for a little while longer. We can get this. We can win.”

It takes a moment, but eventually Emma tears her eyes from Neal’s lifeless form and listens to Chief Nolan’s instructions. She’s running in the direction she was pointed in, magic on her fingertips when she hears an angry shout from behind her, and she turns in time to see Ruby diving between Mary Margaret and a sword. She lets out a pained scream as her hands close around the blade, but it only lasts a second before she transforms into her wolf form and tackles the man to the ground, her teeth at his throat.

Chief Nolan looks shocked, but she doesn’t stop the fight. “Emma, go!”

The blonde turns and runs again, taking over Neal’s troops, instructing on how to keep going and using her own magic to block a lot of the attacks Rumple’s men keep sending to them, keeping her own side as high energy as possible while the other side tires out.

It feels like hours later, though it can’t be as the sun is still overhead, when everything begins to die down. Rumple calling out for everyone to stop, Chief Nolan making her way up to him, motioning for Emma to start calling for help. There are so many injured, so many lost, but even more alive, and everyone starts to stagger off, helping who they can, while others come back just to retrieve bodies.

Ruby is the one who comes back for Neal, Roni by her side as they carry him through a portal. Emma’s eyes are full of tears as she turns back to where Chief Nolan stands in front of Rumple, an annoyed expression on his face as they talk. He mutters some nonsense about how  _ you’ll never survive without me _ , and  _ good luck controlling magic without us _ , and  _ you’ll be back, but it’s too late, you had my help once but it’s gone now,  _ and  _ you don’t even know what you’re getting yourselves into but you’ll find out soon enough _ . He gives the chief an accusatory look before glancing at Emma, giving her the same expression. He shows no sympathy for Neal.

In response to it all, Chief Nolan just gives him a pleasant and unaffected smile that is somehow equivalent to one of her famous and lengthy hope speeches. He sneers, muttering again, and Mary Margaret motions for Belle, who approaches, the dagger still gripped in her hand. She holds it out to him, and it disappears from her hands with a cloud of smoke, and he is quick to follow.

It’s then that Mary Margaret turns and meets Emma’s eyes, a sad but satisfied smile on her face as she motions for everyone to follow her. “The world turned upside down,” she whispers as she nudges Emma.

“We did it,” Emma says, her voice breathless and almost in disbelief, unable to wrap her mind around the turn of events despite them happening right before her eyes.

“Yes, we did,” Rayna is there to affirm just as they step back into Storybrooke. She pulls Emma in for a hug, and they stay like that for a long while, too comforted by the contact and too overcome by everything else to pull back. Emma kind of wishes it was her wife, and when they pull back, she avoids her sister-in-law’s eye contact.

The tension is fortunately broken by her  _ other  _ sister-in-law, shouting “Freedom for Storybrooke! We won!” in their ears as she runs through the streets, trying to smile as much as she can at the victory, pushing the loss away for another time. 

Everyone else tries to follow her lead, but the emotions are so conflicting. The heavy weight of all they lost juxtaposed to the success at winning the fight against Rumple and the Enchanted Forest, once and for all.

_ The world turned upside down. _

Emma struggles to smile. She sees David and Mary Margaret reuniting, falling into each other’s arms as soon as they reach each other. Roni and Rayna smiling at each other as their father walks towards them, a proud smile on his face. But she can only look toward the hospital, where she knows many are injured, already with loved ones knelt beside their beds, hoping they’ll survive, and where she knows others have been taken to the morgue, the bad news spreading around town. 

She doesn’t smile until Killian approaches her. “Hey, Swan.” She just looks up at him at first. “I, uh,” he stops to clear his throat. “I have some good news.”

“What?” she asks, her voice emotionless.

“Milah sent a message from Oz.” It’s enough to make the color return to Emma’s face, her eyes widening as she watches Killian’s lips tilt into a grin. “Congrats, Swan. You have a son.”


	9. nonstop

**(emma)**

Emma had never conjured a portal so quickly in her life, and as she does, Killian just stares at her, stunned. “Damn, Swan, I knew you had magic, but I didn’t think you were actually  _ good _ …”

She snorts before turning to shoot him a glare. “You coming or not?”

The portal leads them right outside Oz’s version of a hospital, and Zelena is there ready to grab Emma by the arm and drag her through the building. ( _ “Oh please, it’s just like a normal hospital _ ,”  _ Zelena says when Emma asks _ ). She pushes her into a washroom and tells her to clean up, and Emma feels dazed, but she wastes no time in doing what her sister-in-law asked. 

Before long, Emma’s standing in a doorway of a normal looking hospital gazing across the room at her wife, looking tired and radiant, beaming down at a little green bundle in her arms. Emma is speechless as she looks on in an excited awe, and when she tries to speak, she can only produce an unexpected noise from the back of her throat.

Her wife doesn’t seem bothered by Emma’s lack of articulation, rather she gives a soft little squeal and says, “Come meet our little prince, Emma.” As the blonde makes her way over to her little developing family, Regina turns back to the baby in her arms. “Are you ready to meet your other mama?”

There’s a small coo from the bundle, and Emma lowers herself onto the bed next to her wife to catch the first glimpse of their son. He gives them a toothless grin, and Regina looks to Emma with her own proud smile. “Mira a nuestro hijo,” she says with a glance back down. “Do you want to hold him?”

Wordlessly, Emma nods and they’re careful as they pass their son between them. As soon as he’s in the blonde’s arms, he gurgles happily, and as her eyes fill with joyful tears, she smiles down at him. “Hey, kid. You look like your mom. You know, the good looking one.”

Regina nudges her playfully. “He has your eyes. And your fire.”

“You think?”

“Oh, definitely. When he was ready, he wasn’t going to wait around. The doctor told me this labor went smoother than any he’d ever seen.”

Emma grins, unable to take her eyes away from the tiny human in her arms. “So, Henry?”

She finally glances over to Regina, meeting her eyes, literally shining as she looks at Emma. “That’s what I was thinking. As long as you still like that…”

“I love it,” she says, pressing her lips to Regina’s before turning back to Henry, slowly falling asleep in her arms. “He’s so cute! Look at him!”

“I see him,” Regina laughs as she loops her arms around Emma’s waist, tucking her chin on Emma’s shoulder. 

“Can you believe we made him! I’m so… god, Regina, I don’t even know the right words to express this. He’s so small and perfect.” She leans down to press a soft kiss to his tiny nose, smiling even wider when it twitches a little in his sleep. “Henry,” she whispers, addressing her son for the first time. “I promise I’m gonna look after you, and your mom, and any future siblings you have.” Regina chuckles at that. “I never had a family, but I promise you that you always will.” Her wife kisses her cheek, and Emma turns to catch her lips again for the next one. “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“You are too. I’m really happy you’re okay.”

“Me too,” Emma says, the mood growing a little more somber. “Not everyone is. It was a really rough fight, but Roni is fine, Mary Margaret is okay, Ruby is too… But a lot of people didn’t make it. Neal,” she says, her voice growing softer. “His own father...” Emma stops with a frown, “We lost a lot.”

Regina nods, taking everything in. “But did we--”

“We did it,” Emma says, managing a smile. “The second best news of the day, right behind this little guy,” she says as she smiles back down at their baby. “We’re officially free from the Enchanted Forest. Rumple surrendered.”

“Henry’s proud of you,” Regina says, and Emma gives her a curious look.

“How do you know that?” she smiles.

“Because  _ I’m _ proud of you,” she says, her lips pressing against Emma’s shoulder. They sit for a moment in silence, settling back on the bed. Emma passes Henry back to her wife before holding them both in her arms, resting her head against Regina’s. The room is mostly still and silent, and the next sound that fills the room is the brunette’s gentle voice singing to Henry, “ _ Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo de mi corazón _ .”

She sings the whole lullabye, and Emma lets a moment pass before breaking it. “That was beautiful.”

Her wife smiles. “My father used to sing that to us growing up. I always said that I would do the same when I had children.”

“Can you teach me? I want to be able to sing it with you.”

“Of course. But maybe not right now. I think our little prince has the right idea,” she says, nodding at Henry, still snoozing in her arms.

“Of course,” Emma agrees. “You should get some sleep.”

“Here,” Regina says as she passes Henry over to her. “You can spend some more time with him if you wish, but you should try and get some sleep as well.”

“Will Henry be okay if I--”

“He has a little bed just over there,” Regina reassures her. “We’ll know if he needs us.”

Emma nods, as she stands with Henry in her arms, walking over to look at the hospital crib before she turns back to Regina. “And where will I sleep?” 

Her wife pats the space beside her.“Are you okay with that?” She asks with a quirked brow. Emma just grins back at her wife, getting comfortable for sleep. “Have a good time with our boy.”

“We’ll be right back.” She kisses Regina one last time before she and Henry walk down the hallway. She’s careful to look where she’s going, but otherwise, she can’t seem to (and quite frankly doesn’t want to) take her eyes off her son.

They stop in the middle of the hallway so that Emma can smile at him without them running into a wall, and she jumps in surprise when she hears Killian rounding the corner. “Woah, hey,” he says, keeping his voice low. “How’s the little tyke?”

“He’s so cute, Killian! Look at him!” she says back in quiet enthusiasm, walking to show him her son’s sleepy little face. “He looks just like Regina, except he has my eyes.” Killian smiles at them, nodding along with her. “So are you excited to be a dad? I guess you’ll be the next parent,” she chuckles.

He looks away almost shyly. “I am. A bit nervous though too, you know. I lost my parents, so I don’t know how good of a father that’ll make me.” Emma raises a brow, and she watches as Killian’s face change, the realization sinking in. “Oh. I’m sorry….”

Emma shrugs, “No, I understand. I was nervous too.” She looks down at Henry and immediately feels the tension leave her shoulders, the smile growing on her face that she’s sure will never leave now that her son is in her life. “I still am a little, but mostly, I’ve never been more sure of anything.” She looks back up to Killian. “You’ll see what I mean someday.”

“Someday soon,” Killian says. “Milah and I are about to head back to Storybrooke. I suppose we’ll seeing you around?” 

“We’ll be back before you know it, I’m sure.” He waves to Emma, who smiles back, turning to walk Henry back to the room. She places him in the little bed and kisses his forehead, grinning wider at the way his soft little head smells. “Goodnight, little prince,” she whispers, happy to be by her family’s side again, even if it is in a strange hospital in Oz. She gives her son another kiss before she makes her way over to Regina. “Someday, Henry, you’re gonna blow us all away.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

They stay a couple of nights in the hospital before taking Henry home, mostly because Regina was wary about portal jumping with Henry. They knew it wouldn’t hurt him, but it made them nervous nonetheless. Besides, it was a good excuse to visit with Zelena who was enjoying their company, not to mention the time with her nephew.

But Storybrooke was waiting for them, especially Henry’s other family members who were giddy with the baby’s new arrival. Roni would be leaving shortly after their return, and Rayna was beside herself with anticipation to meet the newest addition to the family. 

Henry Sr had made the decision to leave Regina the mansion. He said it was too big for one lonely old man, and with Roni moving back to Hyperion Heights, there’s not much of a point in staying in the mansion, even if his wife returns. 

The decision and the mention of their mother makes Rayna and Roni’s eyebrows raise, jaws going slack, but Henry just shrugs kindly. “I’ll get a place, and she’ll like it. If she wanted a say in it, she would have already come back and contributed.” There was no word on when she would be back, but for the most part, her disappearance wasn’t exactly frowned upon. 

When it’s time for Emma, Regina and their son to leave Oz, Zelena sends them with presents, most of them for Henry, but she sends things for the rest of the family as well. She pulls them all into an excessively big hug. “Congrats. On your family and your freedom. And good luck if mother ever comes back.” Regina rolls her eyes like she doubts it’ll happen before Emma conjures up the portal and they walk through, nearly colliding with Roni outside of 108 Mifflin. 

The brunette takes a few brisk steps back, as Emma drops the bag Zelena had loaded up at her feet before darting forward to pull her friend into her arms, “I didn’t get to see you after the fight,” she tells, her, her hands still on Roni’s shoulders as she steps back. “You fought great.”

The other woman snorts. “Yeah, good to know since I’m about to do it all again for Hyperion Heights. Though, I think they’re going to be laying low for a little while, waiting for Rumple to be a little less bitter about all of this.”

“You’ve still got to go though?”

“Yeah,” she shrugs. “But not without seeing my little nephew,” she grins, moving Emma out of the way so she can walk over to where the oldest triplet has scooped Henry from Regina’s arms and is babbling down at him until he laughs, his little hand swatting at her hair.

**(regina)**

Regina grins as she walks over to greet her father with a hug, and when she pulls away, he hands her a house key. She laughs, “Dad, I already have a key to your house. Remember?”

He smiles, “Regina, that’s not just another key. That’s  _ the _ key.  _ My _ key,” he explains. Regina’s eyes widen when she realizes what he’s telling her, she tries to respond but he shakes his head. “I know what you’re going to say. That you can’t accept it. But I want you to. You’ve given me my first grandchild, and I know you’re already thinking about more.” She ducks her head as she blushes. “I want the best for the three of you, and any that follow. The place you have now is wonderful, Regina, but it isn’t ideal to raise a family in.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Regina says, trying to hide the happy tears threatening to spill.

“You don’t have to say anything, Mija,” he tells her. “Except to maybe share the good news with Emma. I’m going to go meet my grandson. I love his name by the way,” he adds with a wink. Regina grins at him before skipping over to her wife and handing her the key.

“Welcome home, Emma.”

The blonde blinks at her confused, “Home…. You mean…?”

“Yes! My father insisted. He said it would be perfect for our family, now and when we expand.”

“Expand?” Emma grins, taking Regina’s hand and pulling her closer. “Of course you already want another one.”

“Try two,” Regina laughs. “What do you think, Miss Swan? Care for a few more mini-mes?”

“With you? Absolutely.”

* * *

 

**(killian)**

Storybrooke’s next baby is born only a week later. A little girl named Cordelia, who looks like a perfect mix of Milah and Killian. Emma goes to visit them in the hospital with a little stuffed octopus she picked up at the store and finds them in their room, Milah sleeping soundly, and Killian standing with his daughter in his arms, smiling down at her. 

He doesn’t see Emma standing there at first, and she feels a little intrusive after too long so she softly clears her throat and makes her way over to him. He looks up at her, mildly surprised until his face relaxes. “You told me about how Henry softened your nerves on the whole parenting thing,” he starts, his eyes drifting back to his daughter. “I see what you mean now. Suddenly I feel like I can do anything, you know? The world feels limitless.”

Emma smiles. “That’s not gonna go away. Not anytime soon, anyways. Everytime I look at my boy it’s like… I don’t know. Like a burst of energy.” Killian nods as he sways the baby in his arms. “What’d you name her?”

“Cordelia,” he answers. “It was Milah’s idea. After her mother.”

“You didn’t want to name her after yours?”

Killian hesitates a moment before shaking his head. “We thought about it, but I wanted this to be a fresh start for us, rather than a reminder of the past.”

“I get that.” 

**(emma)**

They stand together in silence for a moment, the occasional noise from baby Cordelia, and Emma hesitates before asking, “How much time off are you taking?”

“As much as I can get. Why?” Emma shrugs, not wanting to admit that she’s already getting antsy without work to occupy her time, and she’s just starting her official leave. “What about you?”

“Same, I guess.” 

Killian frowns at her. “You guess?”

“It’s all kind of up in the air,” she says, waving it off and checking the watch she forgot to put on that morning. “Anyway, Regina’s expecting me, so I should…” she gestures away before waving at him and the baby. He smiles back at her, brows creased, but he doesn’t follow or try to further the conversation, so Emma keeps walking and lets herself feel relieved.

Regina greets her with a kiss as soon as Emma’s in the house, and she feels herself relax even more in her wife’s embrace. “They had a girl,” Emma tells her. “Named Cordelia.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty cute. Looks like both of them. I feel confident about announcing her as Storybrooke’s second cutest baby. Behind Henry of course.”

“Of course,” Regina smiles as she presses her lips to Emma’s once more.

“How is the little prince doing?” As if on cue, there’s a cry from the other room, and Emma bolts in without hesitation. “Regina! He’s crying!”

Her wife isn’t far behind her, and she scoops Henry into her arms. He quiets down at the contact but doesn’t seem quite satisfied. “He’s probably hungry. It’s alright,” she tells Emma with a reassuring smile, getting ready to feed Henry. “He’s been very good; although, he’s missed you.”

“Well tell him he gets to spend all the time he wants with me after dinner.”

“Really?” Regina asks. She looks surprised, and Emma’s brow furrows.

“Uh, yeah. Where else would I be?”

Regina hesitates. She opens her mouth as if to speak before giving her head an almost imperceptible shake before looking away, her full attention back on Henry. The crease on Emma’s forehead only grows.

“Regina?” Her wife doesn’t answer, short of an inaudible mutter and another shake of her head. “What?” she asks, a little more defensively than she should, and eventually Regina just shrugs, but her voice still comes out wary.

“I figured you were just going back to work.”

At first, Emma isn’t sure what to say. She sits back on the sofa while Regina goes about feeding Henry, just thinking over her wife’s assumption that she would just go back to work a week after her son was born with no leave whatsoever. Sure, she missed work. She had a lot to do, but she wasn’t going to just return to full time work. “Regina, I’ve been granted maternity leave.”

“I know,” the brunette responds matter-of-factly. She doesn’t look at Emma.

“Then why…?”

“Because you work, Emma. That’s just what you do. Our little town is finally on its own, and you have a lot to do.” She shrugs again, still refusing to look at her.

“Regina, I…” 

“You don’t need to explain yourself, Emma. I won’t stop you from trying to work if you want to.”

It feels like a dismissal in and of itself, and Emma feels the pang of it in her chest. She doesn’t know how she could follow this up with anything, at least not anything helpful. There’s a pause where she’s literally sitting on edge, waiting to see if Regina will say anything else, but when she doesn’t speak or look over to Emma, the blonde stands and leaves the room.

She ends up in the kitchen with her head in her hands, just waiting until Henry’s fed so she can go back in and see them. Do something to prove that she’s not planning on bailing or going back to work before the end of her granted leave. 

She snorts to herself at the idea that she’s about to be following Killian’s ridiculous advice.  _ Talk less, smile more _ . But it’s true that actions speak louder than words, after all. So when she hears movement from the next room, she counts to ten before walking back in, a wide smile on her face as she reaches for Henry, kissing Regina as they shift Henry from Regina’s arms to Emma’s.

The brunette looks taken aback, but can’t hide the smile from her face as she watches her wife gaze down at their son. “Regina, I’m staying here with you until my leave is up. Okay? I want to be here with you and Henry for as long as I can be, whenever I can be.”

Her shoulders relax when Regina leans forward to kiss her again. “I love you.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

Emma’s leave is three months, and it flies by, faster than she would have expected. She thought that without work, she would feel unproductive and lethargic, but instead she feels energized by the presence of her son and overjoyed by the company of her wife. 

Of course, when the day comes, she’s excited to go back to work, but that doesn’t stop her from clinging to Regina in bed that morning. “Regina, just one more day,” she pouts, and her wife chuckles.

“You have a job to do, Emma. I want you to stay, believe me, but I know you miss work.”

“I  _ do _ , but I’ll miss you more once I leave.”

“Is that so?”

To prove her point, Emma pulls her wife on top of her. She smirks as she presses her lips against Regina’s, tugging her lower lip back as she pulls away. “If we keep having babies, do we get to have maternity leave forever?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Regina laughs.

They share a few kisses, unhurried, although derailed, by smiling lips against smiling lips, and they stay for as long as they can until Henry wakes up with a loud wail. Emma’s alarm isn’t far behind.

“Make sure you say goodbye before you leave, okay?” Regina asks of Emma before she leaves the room to go to Henry.

Of course Emma does.

That day, and every day after.

Readjusting to work is another thing that defies Emma’s expectations of it. For one, she’s been so settled into the family routine, that it seems like she’s contributing less to everything happening around her, even if Mary Margaret tells her otherwise. Second, nothing at work is the same as it was before. There’s even more paperwork than there was prior to their freedom as they try to get their town organized and structured enough to stay on its feet.

Mary Margaret reassures her that they’ve been fine without her but that she’s grateful to have her back. “Emma, listen,” she tells her the first day back. “You may be working again, but your home life isn’t going anywhere. It’s something you have to be sure not to neglect. You’ll need to find a balance between both parts of your life that’s more consistent than it ever has been. Trust me. From someone who has children, your presence at home goes a long way.”

Emma nods. Of course she wouldn’t neglect them. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to return home to a family as amazing as hers? It’s what she said, and it’s what she meant, but when it comes right down to it, her work life eventually becomes more focussed. She loses track of time too often, working late into the night until she hears Rayna clearing her throat at the office door. 

“Regina texted me again. She tried calling you.” 

Emma looks up, her tired eyes growing wide, “Wait, what time is it?”

“Time to go home, Emma. All this work will still be here in the morning.”

It always is. Endless paperwork, and endless planning. Eventually Emma falls into a more normal routine, and makes it home with plenty of time for her family. She eats dinner with them every night, gets to cuddle with Henry, and eventually goes to bed with Regina.

She wakes early the next morning and heads back to the office, kissing Regina and Henry goodbye before she leaves. It’s hard, but it works.

But then school comes back in session, and everything gets harder.

They have to make sure Henry has someone to watch him, and it’s nearly impossible when everyone they trust the most works during the day too. Belle is their usual go-to, and it takes Henry a little while to adjust to this new arrangement, but eventually he gets the hang of it, smiling at Belle when she shows up in the mornings. He gets so attached that Regina is sure that he would also cry when his babysitter left, if it weren’t for the return of one or both of his moms.

Like Henry, Regina falls into the new pattern with more ease than Emma, who struggles with yet another change, and of course right around the time she adapts, the mayoral campaign starts.

For Emma, this means twice the work in the same amount of time, and she feels herself growing frustrated at the fact that she can’t just knock it all out at once. She loves going home, but the amalgamation of home and work is draining. She wants them both, but she doesn’t think there’s enough time to make the most of each.

She tries of course. She loses a lot of sleep for the next few months, and when Mary Margaret is finally announced as the first elected mayor of Storybrooke, Emma accidentally naps through the after party.

There aren’t any determined positions yet, but Mayor Nolan is starting to form them herself, along with a group of appointed members that would be unbiased about the whole setup. Somehow Killian ends up on the board rather than Emma, and he grins smugly about it. Emma can’t help but mumble about how it just lowers his chance of being promoted to a position he’s helping create.

But then again, the man seems focused on family in all the ways Emma’s focused on work, so she wonders if he would even run for the position if given the chance. “Maybe when Cordelia’s older,” he tells her. “I’m willing to wait, even if some people aren’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma frowns.

He answers with a shrug.

She doesn’t see as much of him in the next two years, mostly just in passing, and she starts to work less hours, Mary Margaret sending her home whenever she leaves. Regina makes a lot of weekend trips to Oz, Rayna and Roni often take time to go as well, but Emma always feels like she shouldn’t go.

“How about just one every few weeks?” Regina suggests, her patience with Emma seeming limitless.

The blonde agrees, not wanting to miss everything.

At work, every time one thing gets sorted, another issue seems to come up, and Emma’s biggest focus becomes magic laws. There’s a sect of magic uses around town that seem to fall in line too closely with something Rumpelstiltskin would have supported or something borderline dangerous. At least, a little too risky, and Emma doesn’t like the idea that something could go wrong around town. All it would take was someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time to suffer the consequences of someone else’s carelessness.

She starts working solely on this new plan to regulate magic, enforce magic laws, and restrict some access to certain abilities. Her plan is going to be foolproof by the end, solid and good enough to not be rejected by any person who disagrees.

Mary Margaret tells her she’s doing great work. Killian tells her she’s doing too much.

Emma stops listening to Killian.

More time passes, and the days begin to blend together. The most significant event is Rayna’s wedding, which makes Emma feel… complicated. She doesn’t like the fact that it’s happening, and she won’t let herself figure out exactly why, but she rationalizes it as hating Rayna’s fiance.

Which, honestly, isn’t a lie.

Robin is  _ okay _ . He’s a little  _ too _ okay really. He also works in politics, on Mayor Nolan’s board helping call the shots, but he’s like Killian in such a way that he’s guarded about what he says, though Emma thinks it’s just an act.

He charms Rayna enough for her to go out with him a few times, and eventually it leads to a wedding. Emma watches the event with a frown on her face, taking in Rayna’s expression. A fake, unsatisfactory smile she knows too well.

At the reception, Rayna avoids Emma, which is okay because the blonde isn’t sure she can tell her congratulations and mean it, but when the night comes to a close and Rayna tugs Emma to say goodbye, they end up in a hug that lasts a little too long.

Emma’s nearly grimacing as she tells Rayna, “I’m happy for you. I really am.”

“Thanks,” Rayna says, avoiding Emma’s gaze as she pulls away, resuming her unconvincing smile. “Thanks a lot.”

It’s a moment Emma can’t stop thinking about.

* * *

 

**(emma)**

When everything settles down even more significantly, there’s one thing Emma keeps coming back to, and she’s nervous to bring it up to her wife, but one night when they’re both home, curled up in bed before drifting off, she decides to just go for it. “Hey, Regina?”

Her wife shifts in bed to look over at her, “Yes?”

Emma hesitates again, but reminds herself that it’s not a big deal. It’s just a question, and the worst that could happen is that her wife might not be on the same page as her. “So, Henry’s in second grade already….” she starts. “Should we be thinking about having another baby?”

That makes Regina sit up in bed altogether. Her expression is unreadable, but the surprise is clear in her voice. “You want another baby?”

“Of course I do,” Emma says with a nervous laugh. “I mean, if that’s okay with you that is.” When Regina doesn’t immediately respond, Emma keeps babbling, “I mean, I kind of thought we would already have two by now. Maybe even three, but I know things were really busy these past few years. But I think it’s all dying down now. And I’ve been thinking a lot about it. So I--”

She stops talking when Regina all but jumps on top of her pressing her lips to Emma’s nand pulling back with a smile. “You don’t need to explain, Emma. I want another baby too.”

“Really?”

“I love you,” Regina says, “And Henry, and I think we both know we were never going to have just one.”

Emma smirks, “Well then what are we waiting for. Let’s go.”

“You’re insatiable,” Regina laughs as Emma’s hand snakes up her bare back. Emma shrugs as she wiggles her eyebrows. Neither of them are complaining. 

Hope Swan-Mills is born within the year, and she looks even more like Regina than Henry does. Emma beams as she proudly shows her off to everyone for the first time, assisted by Henry, who’s likely the world’s most excited kid.

It’s an exciting time, but Emma’s even more restless during this maternity leave than her last, and by the time it comes to an end, she charges into her work full force, and this time, Mary Margaret doesn’t try to hold her back. 

There’s finally some consistency after eight years of chaos, and Mayor Nolan calls Emma to her office the week after her leave is over with a plan.

“There are two positions,” she explains. “They both have the same title, so both people will be appointed secretaries under me, both of my decision, but each of you will be in charge of a different function in our society.”

Emma nods with a slight frown. “Okay,” she starts. “So what do you need me to do?”

“I want to ask you to run the Department of Magic.” Green eyes widen, considering the strength of that role. She never knew it would lead to this, but she’s been working towards something worthwhile for quite some time now. Her plan could more than see the light of day; it could have a real chance.

She accepts without question. After all, what could she possibly need to consider?

The answer to that is waiting for her at home when she picks Henry up from school.

“Emma?” Regina asks as she turns the corner, baby Hope in her arms. She has a hopeful smile on her face, and the blonde nearly breaks at the sight of it. Their routine had become perfect after Hope had been born, and this week, despite Emma starting back at work, was no exception.

They’d talked about her working less hours, and Emma had been willing to comply. But by accepting the position a Secretary of Magic, she’d basically thrown her promise to Regina out the window.

“Regina,” Emma says, swallowing hard. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Immediately her wife’s jaw sets, sensing that whatever Emma’s about to say isn’t good news. The whole vibe around the room is tense, and Hope squirms a little. Regina passes her to Emma before she sits down, running her fingers in her hair and leaning back against the couch. She looks exhausted and Emma grimaces.

“Mayor Nolan offered me a promotion… to be in charge of the Department of Magic.” Regina doesn’t look surprised by this, and Emma frowns. “Have you already heard this?”

“No,” she answers. “I’m not surprised though, Emma. You’re one of the most qualified for a promotion. I would be upset if she didn’t offer you one. Especially one like that. It’s exactly what you’ve been working toward.”

“Would you be upset if I took it?”

Regina sighs. “It’s your dream, Emma.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Hope coos as she tugs on Emma’s hair, the only sound in the otherwise quiet room. Both women are looking at each other, not sure what the either is going to say, but from the resolved look in Emma’s eyes, and the helpless look in Regina’s, it’s evident they’re on the same page.

“If you needed to ask, you should have done so before you accepted it,” Regina finally says, answering the question. Her response is met with silence. “I get it though, Emma. I’m proud of you. I mean, look at where you started… You continue to go so far, and I will always be proud of your progress. But that doesn’t mean that I’m happy that you’re at work more than you are at home.”

It’s not a guilt trip, but Emma feels guilty nonetheless. “I know, Regina, but I mean, look around. This place may have come a long way, but there’s still so much to be done. I want this place to be the best it can be for our family--”

“Emma,” her wife interrupts. She hesitates before shaking her head, deciding not to say what she wanted to say. She instead says, “Just remember that you’re not running out of time, alright? I don’t want you to work so much that you miss our family. Just make sure you’re here for dinner. And to kiss me goodnight. Be at all of Henry’s soccer games and to sing Hope her lullabye. That would be enough.”

Emma kisses her, sealing her promise.

* * *

 

**(regina)**

A week before Emma’s new position officially begins, Regina finds herself in Rayna’s office, Hope propped up in her lap playing with a little stuffed lion. She’s patiently waiting for her sister to wrap up what she’s doing and explain what she needed to come in for. It makes her nervous, the way that Rayna had texted her so cryptically.  _ I need you to come here ASAP _ . She was a little worried it was about Emma, but she’d stopped by her wife’s office on the way here, and nothing had seemed off.

Emma had beamed and jumped up from the desk, peppering kisses on them both. “What brings you here? Not that I’m complaining. You know I’m always happy to see you,” she’d said.

“Rayna needs to see me,” Regina answered, her voice wary, and Emma’s brow had creased. She clearly hadn’t known what was going on. “I’ll come see you after, okay babe?”

Now Regina is looking at Rayna putting the final touches on some paperwork before looking nervously to her sister. 

“Is this about Emma?” Regina asks, right out the gate.

Rayna shakes her head. “No, but are you okay with her taking that promotion?”

“It’s her dream job. Or at least close to it. She’s been working nonstop for this, and I don’t want to take this away from her. I trust her, even if her time management could use some improvement.”

“I have to say, that makes me feel a little better. But Regina, there’s something you need to know. There are two secretary positions. Emma is going to be the Secretary of Magic, but the other position is the Secretary of Realms. I wasn’t sure who was getting it, but I’ve just found out this morning. Mary Margaret told me and it’s…” she sighs deeply. “This is going to change things.”

“Change things?” Regina asks, shifting Hope on her lap. “Who is it?”

“Our mother.”


	10. take a break

**(narrator)**

The minute that Cora Mills is back in Storybrooke, everyone knows. She’s not quiet about it, and she expects all of her family to meet her at the portal even though she couldn’t be bothered to make it to either of her daughter’s weddings, nor the births of her two grandchildren.

Regina refuses to appease her mother’s wishes. So she tells Emma to just keep working; they can deal with Cora eventually, and so Emma complies. Rayna goes to the portal location, but only at Robin’s insistence. Her mother beams when she enters Storybrooke, and pulls Robin in for a hug before so much as glancing at Rayna.

She takes a look around the town with a judgmental frown. “I suppose it’s alright here. Not quite like what Hades did to his town, but this is acceptable.” She eyes a few more buildings before finally meeting her daughter’s gaze.

“Mother,” Rayna greets tersely.

Cora hums, “Alright that’s enough of that. Where can I find my office?”

Rayna takes in a measured breath. “I’m sure Robin would be happy to show you. I have a meeting to catch.” She waits until her mother has an arm looped through Robin’s before disappearing, taking a quicker way to City Hall and ducking right into Emma’s office.

“Is she here?” Emma asks.

“She’s going to be here soon. I wouldn’t put it past her to just, teleport in here. Just so you’re aware, if you aren’t already, she’s going to try and bury you.”

“Not literally, I hope,” Emma laughs, but her sister-in-law doesn’t join her. 

When there’s a firm knock at the door, Rayna has to fight back an eye roll as she turns to smile politely at her mother and husband. “This is Emma Swan, Secretary of Magic. She was Mayor Nolan’s right hand when she used to be Chief. I suppose, in some ways, she’s still her right hand.”

Cora hums again.

“She’s also your daughter-in-law,” Rayna adds, her voice deadpan. “Not to mention the mother of your grandchildren.”

There’s another hum. “Is Mayor Nolan around? I would like to speak with her. Lovely to meet you, Emma,” she adds before leaving the room. The blonde is too stunned to say anything, so she lets the woman leave.

As soon as the door is closed behind her, Cora turns to Robin. “She’s the one who wants to abolish magic?”

Robin shrugs, “Maybe not  _ abolish _ , but her plans for magic regulation are incredibly strict. Too strict, if you ask me.”

“Oh, don’t worry too much about that. We’ll take care of her silly little magic laws.”

* * *

 

**(emma)**

No one is particularly happy about Cora’s return. Roni of course has been gone, and she had already apologized in advance for never visiting as long as Cora was in town or in whatever realm she would be going to see them in. Rayna didn’t talk about it much, but whenever Mary Margaret mentioned it, she’d groan, not at all subtly. Robin just glanced between everyone warily. Even Killian looked on edge at the idea of Cora coming back, though that may just be because she would be the Secretary of the Realms without so much as having earned it within the town. 

Emma was unsure, as she’d never met Cora before now, but from Regina’s shift in demeanor, she knew from the start it would be a struggle.

“She hates that I’m living in  _ her _ house.”

“I thought it was your father’s?”

Regina rolls her eyes. “It  _ is _ my father’s. But my mom thinks she owns everything that he does, even though their marriage has never been like that. Honestly, she’s infuriating. We have a family and need the space. Her children have all grown up and moved out.”

“Or moved back in,” Emma points out. Regina purses her lips. “Babe, let’s not worry about it okay.”

Regina shrugs, “Rayna and I were talking about it, and we’re a little worried about you working with our mother.” Emma frowns. “It’s not so much you as it is her. You’ve been working really hard on these laws for magic regulation, and we can already tell you that she’s going to hate them.”

“Hate them as in she’ll complain about them or hate them as in--”

“She’ll put an end to them,” Regina finishes. “Or she’ll try to.”

“But if she does, I could lose my job,” Emma says, dropping to the couch in defeat. Regina worries her lower lip before slipping down next to her and tugging her into her arms.

“Like you said, let’s not worry too much about it right now. You know that Mary Margaret listens to you, and nothing can be put into effect without her approval. So if you think about it, my mother won’t necessarily be able to stop you. Not right away anyway.”

Emma doesn’t look convinced, and the lines on her forehead stay creased with worry until Henry dives into her lap with an excited shriek. “Ma! Bienvenido a casa!  Te amo!” Emma’s eyes widen as she looks up at Regina, beaming at the two of them before she looks back at Henry with the same wide smile.

“Wow, bud! Your Spanish is really coming along, huh?”

Henry gives her a toothy grin, “Sí!”

“I’m really proud of you kid,” she tells him as he holds himself closer for another hug. Regina smiles as she walks across the room to pick up Hope from her baby swing. 

“Henry,” she says, getting his attention as she sits next to her son and wife on the couch. “You want to show your mom what you learned today?”

He nods excitedly and slides from Emma’s lap so that he’s wedged between them, and when he’s all settled he holds his arms out, smiling as Regina sets his baby sister in them. “Careful,” she tells him softly.

“I will be, Mom,” he tells her, a reassuring smile on this face. “Ready, Ma?” he asks looking at his other mother who smiles down at him before catching Regina’s eye. “Ready, Hope?” His baby sister only gurgles up at him before he starts to sing to her in his little voice,  “ _ Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo de mi corazón _ .”

Emma is speechless when he finishes, smiling down at him as he kisses the top of Hope’s head before turning to each of his moms, giggling when Emma does the same to him. “How do we have the two cutest kids ever?” she grins, winking at Regina. She waits for the brunette to have the baby back in her arms before she stands up. Henry goes back to playing with some of his toys on the carpet.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, uh… I think I should talk to Rayna. About what we were just talking about?”

Regina gives her a look. “It can wait until after dinner, don’t you think?”

The blonde pauses but eventually deflates, meeting her wife back in the living room and taking Hope into her own arms. “I know, babe. I’m just worried.”

“And I get that,” Regina says, kissing the tip of her wife’s nose before heading into the kitchen. Emma follows. “Try and keep in mind that not everything needs to be done right this minute. You have all the time in the world.”

“What if I don’t? I won’t know until it's too late.”

Regina sighs, “I feel like this is something we’ve talked about before, Emma. Let me remind you that you do a lot for this town, this community, and this family. You’re enough. I wouldn’t tell you that if I didn’t mean it.”

The blonde smiles at her, trying not to get ahead of herself too much and instead take her wife’s words to heart. Hope squirms a little in her arms, and she kisses her head before looking up to Regina. “Have you already fed her?”

“Not yet,” she answers. “Do you think you could keep an eye on dinner while I do? It won’t be long.” They pass Hope carefully between them, and her little fist immediately latches to the collar of Regina’s shirt to tug on it. Emma smirks.

“She takes after me.”

“Shut up,” Regina laughs, giving Emma a kiss before heading to the nursery.

* * *

 

Throughout dinner, Regina seems nervous, and she doesn’t say much when prompted for conversation. The silence is mostly filled by Henry’s chatter across the table about how excited he is that it’s almost summer break.

They indulge him until it’s time for bed, and they let him join in on the lullabye for Hope one last time before he goes (he insisted on multiple rounds), and then after a bedtime story from both of them, he finally settles under the covers. “Goodnight moms,” he says, sounding sleepy and content, and they both kiss him softly on the head before heading back downstairs.

Emma’s eyes widen in surprise when she turns into the kitchen to see her wife pouring a glass of wine, and she’s about to question her drinking and breastfeeding when she slips the glass into Emma’s hand instead. “C’mon, let’s sit down.”

The blonde follows her wife through the doors of the study, sitting while Regina adjusts the volume on the baby monitor and remaining silent until the woman sits next to her. “So,” Emma sing-songs. “What do you have to tell me?” she asks as she takes a sip of the wine.

Regina’s face falls slightly, “How do you--”

“I know you,” Emma laughs. “If you were trying to seduce me, the wine wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Maybe I just want you to relax?” Regina tries.

Emma shakes her head, “Then you would have offered it with dinner. But you waited until we were alone. Besides, you were nervous about something throughout dinner. I could tell.”

At that Regina rolls her eyes, “You know me too well.”

“Yeah, I do,” Emma grins. “Now talk to me. You don’t need to worry, okay?”

“I’m a little worried,” Regina admits. “You work very hard, and it’s something I really admire about you, but sometimes I wish you would take a break.”

“I take breaks,” Emma says, taking another sip of her wine.

“No, I don’t mean small breaks. I mean like… a vacation.” Emma frowns like she’s unfamiliar with the word, so Regina takes her free hand in both of hers. “Zelena wants us to visit Oz this summer, and I want to go. It’s a really good chance for Henry to see another realm, and of course for visiting family. You could use some time off…”

Emma shakes her head, “Regina, I can’t go to Oz for the whole summer… I still have work.”

“I know. But Emma, you don’t have to be there for the whole summer. You can come with us for just a little bit. Rayna is planning on it, and so is our father. Just talk to Mary Margaret… I’m sure she’ll give you a few weeks here and there. And if that worries you, you can still talk to Rayna. She’d love to have you there as well.”

“Really?”

Regina laughs, “What do you think? Of course. Not to mention Henry. I haven’t told him yet because I wanted to talk to you about it first. Even if you don’t join us for the whole time, would you be okay with us being gone all summer?”

“Of course,” Emma nods. “I’ll miss you, but I want you to be happy and have a good time.”

“And you’ll consider joining us?”

Emma hesitates, sipping more at the wine before nodding. “I need to talk things over with Mary Margaret and Rayna for sure. Especially with trying to get these magic regulation laws passed.” She chuckles. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be taking your mother on this vacation, would you?”

Regina rolls her eyes, “Hell no. But if I actually thought taking her would help you, then I would. Unfortunately, I doubt it would make much of a difference.” Emma takes the last gulp of her drink before setting the glass down and nuzzling into Regina’s side. The other woman doesn’t hesitate before wrapping her arms around her wife and holding her close. “Just think about it, okay? Maybe even just for one week each month? That would be enough.”

In response, Emma tilts her head to press her lips to Regina’s pulse point before starting a trail up her jawline towards her ear. By the time she gets there, Regina’s breathing is heavier, and before she takes her wife’s earlobe between her teeth to give it a soft tug, she readjusts so that she’s straddling the brunette beneath her, whose hands automatically seek the skin of Emma’s bare back.

She moans Emma’s name when the blonde flicks her tongue over her ear, slips her hands down the back of Emma’s jeans to grip her ass and tug her closer. “That wine was a better idea than I thought,” she mumbles against Emma’s lips before she tugs her lower lip between her teeth.

“No,” Emma whispers. “This is all you.”

Her hands softly graze Regina’s neck as she presses her lips to her wife’s, first slowly and then more desperate as the brunette’s hands roam back up Emma’s sides under her shirt, trying to tug the fabric from her body. Emma obliges without hesitation, and when her bra follows and Regina’s tongue traces around a pert nipple with the other pinched between her fingers, Emma sighs, her back arching. “You’re so beautiful,” Regina mumbles against her chest. She kisses her way up Emma’s neck, tugging her hair from its restraint until it cascades down her shoulders.

Emma hums against her lips when they meet again. “What are you thinking about?” she asks, her voice raspy as her hands make their way down Regina’s shirt, unbuttoning as she goes.

Her wife emits a throaty chuckle. “You taking me on this couch.”  

“Is that right?”

“Unless you have a better idea?”

Emma’s only response to that is to shift them suddenly so that Regina’s lying comfortably across the length of the couch, and she’s hovering over her wife and leaning back far enough to undo her pants, taking her time doing it.

“Emma,” Regina whines, “Don’t be so unfair.”

“You like it when I tease you,” she counters with a quirk of an eyebrow.

Regina smirks and tugs Emma down by her hair, gently enough not to hurt her but just roughly enough for her to yelp in surprise as she topples against Regina and forms her own smirk. “Oh, that’s how we’re gonna play it, huh?” she asks as her hand trails down Regina’s stomach and traces the edge of her pantyline. Regina’s breath catches at the proximity. “You shouldn’t complain about me teasing you then,” she says as her finger hooks around the edge of Regina’s underwear before pulling it back and tracing a line up her stomach.

The brunette groans. “You are incorrigible.”

Emma chuckles as her fingers slip back down her wife’s smooth skin, under the waistband, and into Regina’s slick heat. Immediately the brunette moans, her hips bucking up for more friction, and Emma doesn’t hesitate to give it to her.

It’s not long before Regina’s fingering Emma, and they’re moving in time with each other, helpless touches and bruising kisses and everything in between. Emma gasps out Regina’s name when she comes, holding her as close as she can, breathing in her scent, smiling up at her as she catches her breath.

They give each other languid kisses as they lie there together, neither wanting to get up, even though they’re going to the same place. “We should get up,” Regina eventually mumbles, and Emma whines against her, pulling her even closer. “Does the fact that it’s our bed motivate you any?”

At that, Emma peeks an eye open. “Maybe? I mean, I could go for a round two,” she smirks. Regina snorts as she tugs her wife up, kissing her one last time before they’re both presentable enough to walk through the hallway ( _ just in case _ , Regina insists). They kiss again just after the door closes behind them.

“Still up for round two?” Regina challenges, and Emma grins as she leads Regina to the bed before they lose themselves in each other again until they’re both sated, eventually falling asleep in each other’s arms.

* * *

 

**(emma)**

Emma wakes up early the next morning to meet Rayna at the office. She’s usually there before her husband, who apparently has a tendency to sleep in, and her mother, who prefers to make an entrance whenever other people have arrived, so it’s a perfect opportunity.

She knocks once on Rayna’s office door before pushing it the rest of the way open. “Hi,” she says with a timid grin, and the other woman beams back at her.

“Wow, you’re here early,” she says as she stands to greet Emma with a hug. It lasts longer than it probably should, as their hugs tend to do, but neither one can find it in themselves to pull away until Emma remembers the whole reason for her visit.

“So I wanted to talk to you a little about everything that’s coming up.”

“Mhmm,” Rayna says, shifting a few things on her desk as she tidies up. 

Emma sheds her leather jacket before taking a seat across from her, watching for a moment before she clears her throat. “I’m a little worried about the way things could be headed. I know we’ve been through a lot of change in the past ten years, but now--”

“You’re worried about my mother,” Rayna interrupts with a smirk.

“I--”

“It’s okay, Emma. I am too.” Even though she isn’t surprised, it shows on the blonde’s face. “She raised me, remember? In the Enchanted Forest no less. I know how she feels about magic, and I know what lengths she would go to to keep it around and as unlimited as possible.”

Emma shakes her head, “I just don’t understand why she left the Enchanted Forest at all. She could have had all the magic she wanted there.”

“But not all the power,” Rayna points out. Emma’s face falls into understanding. “She’s hoping to be mayor one day, I’m sure.”

“I could never let that happen.”

“We might not be able to stop it. In the meantime, keep fighting to get your laws approved and passed. Get as many people on board as you can, okay? It’s a good plan, Emma, and if anyone can get it through, it’s you.”

“You think?”” Emma asks with a sheepish grin.

“Absolutely,” the other woman affirms before going back to some paperwork on her desk. 

Emma sits for a moment longer, wrestling over what she wants to say until she finally says, “So are you going to Oz this summer?”

Rayna looks up at her, “Of course. Aren’t you?” The blonde hesitates, and immediately Rayna catches on. “You’re not going, are you?” She hesitates again. “Not at all?”

“I want to,” Emma says, “I really, really do, but I also don’t want to give Cora the advantage. I’m worried that if I go anywhere before this gets passed, she’ll have the golden opportunity she needs to take over and make all magic legal. I can’t let that happen.” 

She has Rayna’s undivided attention once more, and her sister-in-law shakes her head before looking into Emma’s worried eyes. “I understand, Emma. Believe me. But you can’t work yourself to death. Even if you just went with us for a week. Just one week, I’m sure Regina would be satisfied with that. Wouldn’t you?”

She pauses as soon as she asks, looking away a beat after to break the tension. It’s that unspoken understanding between them about being unsatisfied. Emma could see that look in Rayna’s eyes as it dawned on her that she hadn’t needed to ask because it’s  _ Emma _ . 

“I’m going for a few weeks here and there, but I’ll still be working through the summer. You could just go for a weekend. We could alternate so that one of us would always be here. Just think about it, okay?”

Emma nods reluctantly before she leaves the woman’s office to go to her own. She wants to go to Oz, she really does. She wants to spend time with Regina, with their children, with Rayna, with Zelena, with her father-in-law, but what happens if she goes away, misses just a day, and Cora takes advantage of her absence and gets her whole bill rejected? Everything she’s been working for would be gone, just like that. 

The world she’s been fighting so hard for, the place her children are growing up in, wouldn’t become the place she thought it would be.

She couldn’t let that happen. Maybe staying would be a good thing after all.


	11. nobody needs to know

**(emma)**

Emma rationalizes that it’s _good_ she didn’t go to Oz with the rest of her family because it would have only caused her to miss the first big town meeting since Cora arrived in town. Mary Margaret thinks it would be a good idea to have Emma and Cora sort out their differences in front of a judge panel, with some kind of audience, and Emma had agreed it might be helpful, but now that she’s on the stage of the auditorium, it seems counterproductive.

She doesn’t really _know_ Cora very well at this point, having not met her until the other day. All she has to go on is what she’s heard from the woman’s daughters. She knew that Roni had bailed specifically to avoid her mother, and that everything she’d done up until this point was to go against the woman’s wishes. Rayna had nothing good to say, and even her own wife said that the only member of their family to tolerate her was their father, and even he couldn't handle her in large doses.

But Mary Margaret smiles at her as she calls the meeting to order. “The issue on the table is Emma’s plan to abolish dark magic from the town and establish laws that will safely restrict magic. Cora Mills is back from Wonderland and has some thoughts on the matter. Secretary Mills, you may begin.”

“First of all, thank you so much Mayor Nolan for agreeing to host this meeting for us. When I heard about Emma’s ideas for how magic in this realm should be regulated, I was absolutely appalled, and I believe that after all we've been through to separate ourselves from Rumpelstiltskin, we all deserve a little magic.” The small crowd cheers, and Cora beams proudly. “Don’t you think?” The room cheers again.

“Now, I’m sure many of you know, that some of us can’t help but host magic abilities that are darker than others, and just because Secretary Swan has never been tainted by any darkness from that made up realm of hers, doesn’t mean she should be the one to hold all the power.”

The woman smirks as the blonde gapes across the room. “That isn’t even how that works!”

“Yes, and someone from a realm with such limited amounts of magic that they can hardly manage to open a portal would know. Save it. Your whole plan is ridiculous. No one wants to get rid of power, especially not power strong enough to accomplish what light magic can’t. Rumple tried to restrict our power, same as you are. Do you really believe people will like that or are you really that stupid?”

Mary Margaret clears her throat awkwardly, “Thank you, Cora. Emma, your response.”

Emma has so many things to say at first that she isn’t sure where to start, but eventually she snorts, and Cora’s shocked face at the sound is enough to prompt Emma forward. “Wow, that was _great_ , Cora. You really stooped down to Rumpelstiltskin’s level there. First, I’d like to say that the Land of Untold Stories is definitely real, but what you said about it was one of the only true statements you made. It’s nearly impossible to leave, but I managed it. What does that say about me? I came here for a reason. To help. To represent. And I’m not going to let this realm go down on its own the same way it would have with Rumple.

“Maybe dark magic has power, but it isn’t out of one’s control. The type of magic you have is based on the person you are, and anyone who has dark magic has proven to be untrustworthy. I’ve been collecting research on that for years now, and I have the sources to prove my point.”

Cora scoffs and Emma shakes her head with a hollow laugh. “You haven’t even been here. We’ve been dealing with a lot, fighting this war on our own, and if I’m not mistaken, you left Storybrooke as soon as it originated? You may have been trying to help this town, but you were never here for it. You were doing safe and easy work, out of harm’s way, while we fought. We lost people; you almost lost a daughter, and you just act like it’s not a big deal? It _is_. If you’d have been here, you would have seen it and known.

“Dark magic is like poison. It’s harmful and is built on nothing but bad intentions, and if we let it taint this society, where will we end up?” Emma finishes.

Cora looks outraged and she starts to shout back at Emma before Mary Margaret cuts her off. “Excuse me, Cora, but it’s your turn to talk when I say it’s your turn to talk. Take a break. We’ll come back to this.” Cora nearly growls as she turns to leave. Emma stands tall, looking triumphant. “Emma, can I talk to you for a moment?”

The blonde sighs as she walks over to Mary Margaret, disapproval set in her eyes, and it makes Cora look like she’s won somehow even though nothing has been decided. “Yes?”

“Emma, you’re making a lot of great points, but you’re stooping to her level to deliver them. I’m with you, but it’s not just me you need to convince,” Mayor Nolan says, nodding towards the lineup of adjudicators. “Pull yourself together, alright? Don’t let her get to you.”

“She’s not getting to me. I just want to expose her like the snake she is.”

“And you need to bring the lion you are to a dull roar. Think you can do that for me?” Emma’s face is stubborn, and Mary Margaret knows she’s about to fight her on it. “I know you want to be bold, but you need more people on your side. Hurting Cora will only make her side dislike you more.”

“They dislike me enough already.”

“You don’t know that, Emma. Your career is on the line.”

Emma’s gaze is locked on her mentor’s for a long moment before she reluctantly nods and makes her way back around. If this doesn’t go well, she can always try again. Her whole plan is beneficial to their town, and she believes it with all she’s got. She didn’t pass up on her family vacation to let it fall through the cracks.

So she plans, she writes, she makes more connections.

She works herself to the brink of exhaustion, but she doesn’t give up.

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

The fight to get her plan for abolishing dark magic passed felt like it would never end, and Emma had spent the better part of the past month filled with regret about turning down the opportunity to go on vacation with her family, but because she’d made the decision to stay, she stubbornly refuses to change her mind. Besides, she could get a lot done so long as she sticks to her plan.

The only problem is that she’d been overworking herself to the point of near delirious  exhaustion night after night, and the more she goes at it, the less she gets done. She’s pretty sure it isn’t affecting her judgement, but it’s hard to say, especially when she drops paperwork off at city hall and her fingers brush against Rayna’s and she imagines… things she shouldn’t be imagining about her sister-in-law.

She rationalizes that it’s because she misses Regina, but it’s not just that. She loves both of them. She’s always known that. It’s just easier to admit the truth of the situation when the sister she chose is in another realm.

Rayna doesn’t help the situation much with the looks she gives Emma, the way she stands too close. From her perspective, it’s the same. There’s no denying her feelings. Robin doesn’t satisfy her, and she has no doubt that Emma would, but that can never be a viable option. Both of them know that nothing would ever happen between them, but they also both recognize that there’s obvious chemistry there that goes past platonic levels.

**(emma)**

“I’m going to start working from home more,” Emma says one night, and Rayna nods.

“I understand,” and that’s about as much closure as they get. Emma loves her wife, and on her way home that night, Regina is the only thing on her mind. She’s thinking about how much longer they have to be apart, if there’s a way to go visit her, if there’s a way to video call her in Oz, if she’s going to dream about her that night, but Emma’s thoughts are interrupted when her body suddenly collides with another.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” Emma says, reaching out to balance the woman in front of her. She looks up at Emma once she’s found her footing, and Emma gasps. She has a black eye, covered with a sorry attempt to hide it. “What happened?”

“Oh,” the woman says, shaking her head, but not pulling her gaze away from Emma. “It’s nothing.” She shakes a little in Emma’s grasp, and it's then that she looks away, tucking a strand of long black hair behind her ear, letting the other side fall over the black eye.

That should have been her first clue.

“Hey, you can talk to me. And if you don’t want to, that’s fine, but…” Emma trails off, taking in the woman’s small form, somehow looking smaller than she did a moment ago. The situation is suspicious at best, but Emma’s sure she’s reading the situation right. “Let me help you okay?”

The woman beams up at her. “You’re so kind. I’ve seen you around, haven’t I?”

“Uh, maybe. Emma Swan,” she introduces, holding a hand out. The woman takes it with a smile that lights up her eyes, her attitude making a full one-eighty.

That should have been her second clue.

“Fiona Black,” she says, her hand lingering in Emma’s.

“Pleasure,” the blonde responds. “So, uh, Miss Black, what can I do for you?”

The woman frowns at her. “Mrs, actually.”

“Oh.”

“But my husband, he…” the woman seems to shrink helplessly before Emma’s eyes once again. Her voice drops to a whisper, “He hasn’t been very kind to me lately. Not like you. Not like anyone should be to their spouse.”

“I can help get you out of the situation… if you don’t feel safe. The Sheriff, David, he’s--”

“No, I can’t do that. Not _yet._ Besides, he’s not in town. He left the other day to spend the summer in another realm doing ‘business’ in Neverland. I think he’s having an affair.”

That should have been her third clue.

Emma’s brow furrows, “In… Neverland?”

The other woman brushes over Emma’s question. “I don’t really know what to do, you see…”

“Let me walk you home,” Emma offers.

They’re silent on the walk over, Fiona’s arm looped in Emma’s as she leads her vaguely down the street, stopping abruptly at a townhouse nicer than she would have expected.

That should have been her fourth clue.

“This one’s mine,” she says, not dropping Emma’s arm as she heads up the stairs to the front door. The blonde doesn’t feel like it would be smart to drop the woman’s arm and turn to leave, in case something’s wrong, so she stays and watches her unlock the door, open it, and soon enough, Emma finds herself staring at the inside of the woman’s house, the door closing behind her.

That should have been her fifth clue.

“I should go…” Emma says, finally trying to pull away, but Fiona’s grip on her forearm tightens.

“I wish you would stay,” she says, her eyes wide, pleading and helpless. To that, Emma has no response. She’s thinking the woman’s husband might come back. Maybe that’s what has Fiona so worried? But as she’s lead further into the woman’s home, up the stairs, down the hall, into a bedroom, tugged towards the bed, she starts to really doubt the theory.

Fiona seems free of all concern as she strips in front of Emma before crawling onto the bed. The blonde is looking anywhere but her body, and it’s clearly not appreciated because Fiona appears in front of her again, their faces inches away as she tugs Emma closer by the collar of her shirt.

She has enough time to realize the woman no longer has a black eye before Fiona’s mouth is on hers.

That should have been her sixth clue.

But instead of saying _no_ , instead of pulling back and calling her out on the obvious hypocritical and moral issues at hand, Emma lets it happen. She lets herself lose herself in this woman, she lets herself relax, she lets herself forget.

The next day, Emma is grouchy and gets no work done. She’s supposed to drop some more paperwork off with Rayna, but she doesn’t, evading seeing anyone, especially her sister in-law.

She makes it the entire day without seeing anyone at all until later when there’s a knock at the mansion door. Reluctantly, she makes her way toward it, but she groans when she sees who’s on the other side. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“But we had so much fun last night,” Fiona smirks. “I thought you might like to see me again.”

“It was a one time thing,” Emma says, but the other woman slips past her into the house without so much as an invitation, and she watches as Fiona walks through, looking at her books and family pictures.

She hopes it’ll be enough for the woman to realize that she’s being a complete homewrecker, but there’s clearly no hope when Fiona turns to give her a sad smile. “I wish I had a relationship like yours.”

It’s the last thing she says before she kisses Emma again.

Emma still doesn’t say no.

That morning, Fiona leaves before breakfast, and Emma wakes up scowling at herself for being so weak. She strips the bed immediately and tosses everything in the washing machine before leaving for the office, not wanting to so much as look at her own home.

Rayna is there to greet her with a frown and a quirked brow. “One, I thought you were working at home, and two, you forgot something yesterday,” she says, holding her hand out. Emma drops the paperwork in her hand but becomes instantly paranoid that Rayna will somehow know what’s happened, either by the look on Emma’s face or by the way she smells, and she has to pull herself together before getting to work.

She spends the whole time distracted by her guilt and Rayna’s suspicious side-eyes, but she manages. She stays later than everyone on that night, and the next night, and the next, just to avoid another run in with Fiona, but it turns out to be useless. On the fourth night, it’s before midnight when she leaves, the woman is loitering outside waiting for her.

“Fiona, go home!” Emma says, marching past the woman, but she catches up to her in no time.

“I like yours better.”

“We’re not going to mine,” Emma snaps, but it’s the wrong phrasing.

“Mine it is,” she says with a wink.

That night when Emma leaves, she firmly tells Fiona, “This won’t happen again,” but the woman shrugs like it will.

It does.

It doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s frequent enough to be a pattern, and Emma’s found a way to separate herself from it so that while it’s going on, she isn’t thinking about it for what it is. As long as they don’t go to her house, it’s easier to dissociate, and if she can stop herself from thinking about it at all, it seems like almost nothing.

However, near the end of the month, Emma takes initiative and marches over to Fiona’s house. When she opens the door, the woman beams at the blonde. “I wasn’t expecting you today. Please come in,” she says stepping back, but Emma remains just outside of the doorway.

“I’m not doing this anymore.”

Fiona’s face falls.

“I love my wife, and you’re trying to sabotage my marriage. You said that this was your way of helping me after I helped you, but I have done nothing. I don’t even think your husband is abusing you, or else your black eye wouldn’t have magically healed itself that first night!” At that, Fiona’s eyes widen. “You thought I didn’t notice, did you?”

“Emma, I--”

“I don’t want to hear it. Stay away from me, my family, and our house. They’re coming back at the end of the summer, and I better not catch you talking to them ever. Got it?”

Fiona’s lip quivers ever so slightly just before she pathetically starts sobbing into her hands, dropping to the ground near Emma’s feet. She’s babbling on about how sorry she is, and Emma can’t just leave her there… So she stays. She makes the same recurring mistake for the last time.

A few days later, Rayna absentmindedly hands Emma an envelope as she passes her desk in the office. “What’s this?”

The brunette shrugs, “It just came for you.”

Emma doesn’t even think about it before tearing the envelope open and pulling out the letter. The handwriting is unfamiliar, and she finds herself reading down the paper just to see who it’s from before reading it’s contents, and when she sees it signed off by a Malcolm Black, her heart starts pounding in her chest.

She skims the letter before stuffing it into her bag. There’s a half hour before her lunch break, so she remains calm for as much of it as she can before flying from the office the minute it’s okay for her to leave without raising suspicion. She bangs on Fiona’s door, hoping that Malcolm isn’t home.

His wife is the one to answer, and she smiles at Emma again, but the blonde isn’t playing around.  “What is this?” she growls as she pushes her way inside, holding the letter to the other woman’s face. Fiona shakes her head, tears already forming.

“I don’t--”

“It’s a letter from _your husband_ , asking me to compensate him for what you and I did together, or else he’s going to write another letter to _my wife_.” The woman falls to the ground again, too dramatically, and Emma scowls. “Get off the floor. Don’t pretend like you didn’t set me up.”

“If you keep paying him, we can still--”

“Haven’t you been listening?” Emma shouts, “I don’t _want_ to do this anymore. I can’t do this. I--”

“But I need you…” Fiona cries, reaching for Emma’s hands.

“Get off me! What have you done?”

“I haven’t--”

“You _knew_ this was going to happen. I bet you can read this letter word for word, can’t you?” Fiona stops sobbing, but her face remains stoic as she looks up at Emma. “Oh god, what have I done?” Emma mutters, her chest burning as the situation sinks in. If she pays him the one sum, can she just walk away? Will they tell Regina if she breaks it off from here on out?

When Emma’s tears start, Fiona’s are gone entirely. She stands to face Emma with a dark smirk on her face. “I can’t believe you fell for this,” she says, her voice suddenly different, thicker, more bold. “You have no idea who I am, do you?” Emma shakes her head once, the most of an answer she can give. In response, the woman snorts, holding up her hand to reveal dark magic swirling around her fingers and Emma gapes in horror.

As if this couldn’t get any worse, the woman possesses the one thing she’s been adamant about trying to ban.

“If you speak of my dark magic… If you don’t pay my husband… If you don’t continue our arrangement… If I don’t see you here at midnight every other night until your family gets back to this realm… I will not only tell your wife about us, but I will also ensure that all of your light magic is converted to darkness. No one will ever trust you again. You’ll lose everything. Do we have a deal?”

Emma swallows hard. This situation is completely helpless, but if continuing this affair for the next two months will keep the Blacks quiet, she will do what needs to be done.

_Nobody needs to know._


	12. talk less, smile more (or, do whatever it takes)

**(killian)**

Killian doesn’t know  _ what _ is going on. 

The last he heard, Emma and Cora were tearing each other to pieces in the city hall auditorium when Emma was trying to get her plan to ban dark magic through. She’d told Killian last week she’d do  _ anything _ to make it happen, and of course, he believes her because it’s  _ Emma Swan _ .

Emma Swan who runs her mouth no matter what it means for her. Emma Swan who shares her opinions the same way an old woman shares birdseed. Emma Swan who would throw herself into a duel for a man she’s known less than a year just to stand against people she disagrees with.

“Well you know what might work…” Killian had started.

“Oh, I know…  _ talk less, smile more _ ,” Emma said in an exaggerated copy of his voice.

Killian snorted, “Perhaps.”

But something clearly had worked in Emma’s favor, and Killian was quite sure that his go-to advice wasn’t it. 

Cora and Robin had called a meeting with Emma and Rayna, who had no qualms about opposing her mother and husband, and no one had bothered to let Killian know. He didn’t have a role to play in all this. Not  _ really _ anyway. He was just a guy on the sidelines, looking back at all the times he might have made it somewhere if he’d just spoken up.

Well, he isn’t smiling now.

“Hey, man,” Emma says, taking a seat next to him at the bar. He doesn’t respond. “Rum and coke?”

“You want one?”

Emma shrugs. “Why not?”

The bartender mixes Emma a drink and then another one for Killian. She’s downed half of it before Killian starts talking. “So that meeting…”

“What about it?”

“Top secret?”

Emma gives a casual shrug. “Not really. It was pretty boring actually. But we did get free food,” she adds with a grin. Killian rolls his eyes. “What’s up?” she laughs. “Are you upset you didn’t get invited?”

He thinks about responding, but he’s too irritated to stand the conversation any longer. Something seems off about the whole thing, and if Emma’s going to continue to be cryptic about it, she can count him out. Killian waterfalls his whole drink before leaving some bills on the counter. “I’ve got to head home, but I’ll see you.”

The blonde doesn’t have a chance to respond before he’s gone. 

**(emma)**

“What’s his problem?” Emma spins back around to Killian’s former seat, and sees it’s now occupied by Ruby. The blonde squeals as she pulls her into a hug. “Ruby! Where’ve you been? I haven’t seen you since--”

“Freedom? Yeah,” she laughs. “After we won, I went to the Enchanted Forest to bring Belle back, and I’ve been spending a lot of time in Hyperion Heights to help Roni out. But I’m back. Belle’s pregnant.”

Emma squeals again. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah,” Ruby grins. “So how’s it going here? What have you been up to? I’m thinking about applying as a deputy… think they’d take me?”

“Absolutely yes! And uh, I’ve been alright.” Emma rubs her hand across the back of her neck before giving a little shrug. “I got dark magic banned, effective today.” It’s the first time she’s said it outloud. It still feels unreal to her. 

She wonders what Killian thinks about it.

Ruby’s jaw drops. “What! But isn’t Cora here? Against you?”

Emma shrugs. “We talked about it and she agreed to stop trying to toss out my petition. When she did, Mary Margaret was able to make it an official town law.”

“What about Cora?”

“Free reign of realms,” Emma nods as she talks, “We all now have the power to just go from place to place as we choose. Which is good on this end, but once you’re across, the rule may not necessarily apply. So it’s…”

“Not as good as your end?” Emma hums in agreement as Ruby orders her own drink, but she doesn’t elaborate. “So, where’s Regina?”

“Oz,” Emma answers, pouting. “She’ll be back tomorrow night, but that’s not soon enough.” Ruby sympathizes as she pulls Emma in for a hug, and the two spend some time together catching up before they both have to part ways. “Tell Belle I said hey, alright?”

“Will do, Swan. See you around.”

Emma waves behind her as she walks home, hoping that Fiona isn’t going to show up. She’d said last night would be the last time, and Emma hoped she’d meant it. When she collides with someone, she’s brought back to the first night she’d met Fiona, and even though she can tell that this person  _ isn’t  _ her, she can feel her heart rate picking up.

**(narrator)**

“Woah, Swan, be careful.”

“Killian? I thought you went home?”

He shakes his head. “I was getting some fresh air.”

“For two hours?” Emma scoffs, “What’s wrong, Killian? You can talk to me, you know.”

“I just…” he starts, clearly holding back what he really wants to say. So when he actually says what he means, Emma’s face is a picture of shock. “I don’t understand how you got your way so easily. Cora basically just handed you what you wanted even though she’s been fighting you on it for months now.”

Emma stares at him, a growing smirk on her face. “You get nothing if you wait for it,” she says with a shrug. Killian glares at her. “I’m not trying to be rude, Killian, but unless you step it up and actually put up a fight, or even just take a stand, you’re gonna be waiting forever.”

At that Emma turns to head home, away from a conversation that no longer matters to her, or so she thinks. Killian is standing alone now, feeling even worse than he did before going on his walk, wondering what he did to deserve any of this.

Emma said she would do anything to have her plan come to pass.

Maybe it’s time Killian did the same.

* * *

 

Emma’s pretty sure she’s more nervous for Regina’s arrival than she has been for anything else. Fortunately, Fiona hasn’t tried to contact her since the last time, and she doesn’t so much as give her the time of day whenever they pass each other on the street. Same with Malcolm, and other than the two of them, no one knows anything, and Emma plans to keep it that way.

She actually is considering saying something to Regina, up until the minute her wife walks back in the door, and she’s  _ glowing _ .

“Emma,” she says skipping over. Rayna’s following behind pushing Hope along in her stroller, keeping Henry occupied while Regina pulls Emma into the study and closes the door with her wife’s back, pushing into her, kissing her long and hard and leaning back when she’s smiling too big to continue kissing. “I’m pregnant,” she blurts out. “We’re having another baby.”

“We are?” Emma asks breathlessly, both excited and guilty, unsure which emotion powers over the other. Even if she’d been serious about talking to Regina about her situation, she certainly isn’t anymore. Instead she finds it in herself to pick her wife up and spin her around the room. “I can’t believe it!”

Regina grins and kisses her again. “I love you so much, Emma Swan.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Emma responds.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m so lucky to have you as my wife.”

They spend dinner catching up, Regina telling Emma everything about what she’d missed on their vacation, Henry’s declaration that the new baby will be a boy and Hope’s obsession with flying monkeys. Emma talks about work. How everything is coming along fine, except that Cora is relentless in trying to bring her down, even still. Regina isn’t surprised.

“So you’ve just been working nonstop?”

Emma shrugs, “For the most part.” She hesitates before quietly adding, “I wish I’d gone with you.”

“Next time,” Regina smiles.

But there isn’t really a next time. 

Cora buckles down hard, clearly taking advantage of Regina’s pregnancy and Emma’s lack of attention on her job to try and win the upper hand. It’s obvious what she’s doing, and Regina rolls her eyes. “That woman is heartless. I can count the number of times she’s spoken to both our children on one hand.”

“It’s fine, Regina. Our family doesn’t need her validation.”

“No, but your job does,” Regina points out. “She’s not going to stop until she gets what she wants, which seems to be to have you out of the picture, and I’m a little worried about what’s going to happen when my father steps down. He doesn’t make a huge difference, but I do think he softens her a little. She’s going to need to find more people to back her up, and there’s no telling who she’s going to pick. She already has Robin,” Regina mutters, her lip curling in disdain.

“We’ll figure it out, okay?” Emma reassures.

“I mean,  _ yes _ , we will, but at what cost?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don't think she’ll let you have maternity leave.”

Emma frowns. “She can’t decide that. It’s up to Mary Margaret to approve it, not Cora. I’m taking it. Mary Margaret won’t have a problem with that.”

“No, it’s not… a matter of approval. I just mean, look at what she’s done so far, and you’ve only been taking a little more time off than usual. Imagine what’ll happen if you’re gone for three months.”

“Okay, then I’ll have a shorter leave.”

“Emma… you know you won’t be able to.”

The blonde shakes her head, crossing her arms. “I’m going to figure this out, Regina. I’m not the only one who can do my job. Someone can just fill in. Maybe Killian? I never let you down with Hope or Henry, and I don’t want this time to be any different.”

“It might have to be.”

Unfortunately it is.

Emma’s about to call Killian, confirm with him about standing in for her during leave time. He’s the only one Mary Margaret feels totally comfortable offering the position to, as he’s not committed to any larger part of city council and his views on magic seem to align with Emma’s. He told her he’d think about it, but with Regina’s due date fast approaching, she’s running out of time to plan and needs an answer. But before she can hit the little green call button, Henry comes racing into the room.

“Moms!” He holds Regina’s iPad in front of Emma’s face, and she squints to read it, but before she can, he’s pulling it away and taking it to Regina.

“Henry, wait up,” Emma calls after him, following him into the kitchen. “What’s going on?”

When she walks in, Regina is staring at the screen slack jawed, and she swallows hard before meeting Emma’s gaze. “You’re not going to like this,” she says in warning before handing the iPad over. 

Before she can take in what she’s looking at, Henry interrupts. “Grampa retired and Cordelia’s dad is taking his place!”

Emma’s eyes widen as she meets Regina’s. She hands the tablet back to her son before marching from the room and hitting the button to call Killian. He answers kindly with a  _ Killian Jones speaking _ , and he’s hardly said it all before Emma interrupts. “Jesus, Killian, what the hell were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry?” he asks, oblivious to any qualms Emma has with him, and she doesn’t hold back a scoff.

“I thought you were going to help take over my position when the baby came.”

“Sorry, Swan. Cora called to tell me about the position coming up, and I talked it over with her and Henry before they agreed to hire me. The opportunity came up, and I took it.” There’s a brief pause before he adds, “I guess I just got tired of waiting.”

Emma almost laughs. “You? Tired of waiting?”

“I’m not going to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime, Emma.”

“Even if it means backing up Cora? You’re a lot of things Killian, but I never thought you were a traitor.”

“Traitor?” Killian echoes, his voice deadpan.

“I’ve always considered you a friend.”

“Are we not still friends?”

The blonde sighs deeply. “I don’t know, Killian. Look, I’ve got to go. You know, spend time with my wife before I can’t since my chances at maternity leave are gone.”

“Emma, I--”

“Save it.”

Regina’s in the doorway when she turns around. Emma shakes her head before dropping her phone to the couch and letting Regina pull her into her arms.

In an early afternoon not even a month later, Regina goes into labor, and Emma leaves straight from work to the hospital. She’s there for the birth of their next son, named Rhys. She’s there long enough to hold her wife’s hand through the labor, enough to kiss Regina as they smile at the newest addition to their family, to hold their baby, to take a family picture, but her maternity leave this time is an hour.

She leaves the hospital and goes straight back to her office.

The next time she sees Cora, the woman doesn’t ask about her newest grandchild. She just smirks as though she’s won, and Emma makes it her sole mission to make sure she doesn’t.

* * *

**(narrator)**

It’s been a long time since there was a city council meeting with  _ this much _ anticipation. There have been plenty of small meetings throughout the years, usually weekly, but with all the chaos of really making sense of their own structured government and solidifying it, somehow blending what everyone's comfortable with from their own realms with everything this realm has to offer, it’s hard to get everyone at every meeting, and when they do, none are usually very eventful.

But this time it’s different.

For one, it was Killian’s first major council meeting, as well as the first debate where both sides had been offered backup, not that they would use it. The division was most likely the reason anyone opted to come for this meeting more so than any other, as it was Emma against Cora, with Robin as her second, and none other than Rayna as Emma’s second, against her own mother and husband. This combined with the glares being sent across the room between Killian and Emma along with the issue on the table, will most likely make for an interesting debate.

The issue is that Hyperion Heights hasn’t been having the same successas Storybrooke had in splitting away from Rumpelstiltskin’s abusive control, and they’re constantly at ends and running out of time before the kind of war breaks out between them that Hyperion Heights would have little to no chance of winning. 

Mayor Nolan calls the meeting a week in advance, and by the time it’s arrived, everyone is tense, ready to defend their side. This is the kind of thing Emma thrives on, especially when she knows that like the last time, it’s going to be her against Cora, and even with backup, it’s going to be intense.

Once town hall is filled and all the eristics are set up on the stage on their rightful sides, Mary Margaret clears her throat. “This council meeting is being called to order. The council members present for debate are Swan, backed up by Hood-Mills and Lucas, and Mills, backed up by Hood and Jones. The issue on the table: Hyperon Heights is on the verge of war with Rumpelstiltskin and his troops. The question is: do we offer them assistance or do we stay out of it? My decision on this issue will be the final call. Secretary Mills, you have the floor.”

Cora smirks as she clears her throat and stands center stage to face Emma and her backup. She tilts her chin up with an air of arrogance, and clears her throat  _ again _ , a little louder this time. Rayna stiffens next to Emma, who just quirks a brow as if to say  _ bring it on _ . “I know you may have already forgotten,” she starts with a pointed glance at Emma before she turns to address Mary Margaret, “But when Hyperion Heights offered  _ us _ help, they asked only that we help them when their time came to fight against Rumple.” 

She stops to sigh deeply, an exaggerated look of pity crossing her features. “That time is now here, and if we want to honor our treaty, we need to offer them help in their war against the Enchanted Forest. With our help, they can get the freedom we’ve been enjoying for the past decade or so.” She side eyes Emma, and her expression changes again, a picture of irritation and snark. “Emma Swan is going to suggest we leave their freedom up to  _ them _ , not even offering so much as one member of our society, but here’s a reminder that she doesn’t deal with the realms.  _ I do _ .”

Emma tenses as she tries to keep the sneer off her face, but she’s losing patience fast, and if it’s not her time to speak soon, she’s worried she’s going to interrupt. “How can you trust someone from ‘ _ the Land of Untold Stories’ _ to have anything useful to contribute? To be  _ untold _ is to be unspoken yet restrained, not to be shared, and there’s a reason why  _ that’s _ the place she calls home. It doesn’t even exist.”

Mary Margaret glances nervously over at Emma, knowing that she could lose the room if she interrupts Cora, so the mayor takes advantage of the moment of silence to switch the debate over. “Thank you, Secretary Mills. Swan-Mills,” she nods to Emma. “The floor is yours.”

Emma’s already standing, and it’s clear from her stance that she’s going to be talking more to Cora than to anyone else, but as long as she keeps herself moderately reigned in…

“Are you fucking kidding me?!”

Snow lets out a sigh while Rayna stifles her laughter. Cora looks pleased at the affect she’d clearly had on her opponent as she turns to sit and watch the results of her words. She smiles when she glances at Snow, pleased with the frustrated look on the mayor’s face.

“Mayor Nolan isn’t going to just put us in harm’s way by dropping our people in the middle of  _ another  _ war when we’ve only just started understanding who we are on our own. Besides, personal attacks, Cora? Really? And to think people find  _ me _ immature. Attacking my position isn’t going to help yours, and speaking of which, I understand why you want to help them, but that treaty you’re talking about? It’s  _ moot, _ Cora. The man who initiated it and signed it is dead. And not because of some war, it was because he was old. But if you really want me to, I’m sure I can run a seance and  _ ask him _ about it. Not that he cares!” Emma says, her voice raising. “Newsflash, Mills! Dead men don’t give a shit!”

“Alright,” Mary Margaret says, gesturing for Emma to sit. “I think if I let this debate go on, half my council will be out of the picture, and I can’t have that. Before I conclude anything prematurely however, I would like to ask if Robin and Rayna have anything to add as the seconds?”

“I agree with Cora,” Robin says with a firm nod.

Rayna’s eyes are on his as his are on hers, glancing firmly as if trying to silence her from across the room, but his wife looks more amused than anything. “Emma’s made some extremely noteworthy points. The treaty was important, but it means nothing if the people involved in making it aren’t a part of this ordeal anymore.”

“Well said,” Mary Margaret nods. “Killian? Ruby?”

Killian shakes his head, not to anyone’s surprise. Cora’s lip curls in irritation.

“I think the best points have been made already,” Ruby says, affirming Emma and Rayna’s points with a smile.

“All points considered,” Mayor Nolan starts, pausing before starting her own conclusion. “Emma is right. We still aren’t as confident in our system as we would need to be to throw ourselves in the middle of another war, especially one with the man we fought against for so many years.”

Cora looks aghast. “We’re supposed to represent freedom.”

Mayor Nolan is about to reply when Emma interrupts with a scoff, “You weren’t even here when  _ we _ fought for  _ our _ freedom. If I’m not mistaken, you bailed when the fight began and didn’t return until we had already fought hard and sacrificed for our independence.”

“We do represent freedom,” Mary Margaret says, ignoring Emma’s comment. “But we can’t help Hyperion Heights until they’ve gained some kind of order among themselves. Their time will come, and when they know what they want to achieve, when they come to us for help again, we may be in a better place to help. Right now, we’re too fragile.”

“And so are they,” Cora huffs.

Mayor Nolan remains stoic as she lets the silence fill the room for a few beats, short of the murmuring crowd. “Emma, we’re declaring neutrality. Write me up a message by tomorrow evening.”

Emma nods as Mary Margaret dismisses the meeting. Everyone clears out pretty quickly, but before Emma can make it off the stage, Cora is there blocking her. “You know, my daughter lives in Hyperion Heights,” she says, as if Emma had no idea.

The blonde snorts. “She doesn’t want your help. Why do you think she left as soon as you came back? Besides, Roni can handle herself. As her mother, you should know that.”

“Is that supposed to offend me?” Cora asks in a bored voice.

“I don’t know, you tell me. You’re the one with parenting skills so bad that two of your daughters live in other realms, another sides against you, and the remaining one is married to me. If you ask me, they don’t need or want you around.”

Cora gives her a dry laugh. “You didn’t know what family was until you came here. You may be a parent now, but that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t know what having one is like. The closest you have to a mother is Nolan.” Emma squints. “Don’t think I’m ignorant to the bias she has. But it won’t last forever. Eventually someone else will be Mayor, and you won’t have her there to hold your hand.”

“I don’t need her to do my job,” Emma retorts through gritted teeth, but Cora can only laugh again.

“We’ll see.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cora laughs again, more hollow than the last. “Without her you don’t stand a chance.”

Emma doesn’t respond to that, nor does she react when Mary Margaret calls her phone and she parts ways with Cora, not giving so much as a nod as she turns to leave. Robin and Killian are still onstage behind the older woman, not going anywhere without knowing what’s to come next.

“Let’s go to lunch, boys,” Cora says, her eyes still on the door Emma disappeared from. “We have matters to discuss.”

* * *

 

**(killian)**

They end up at one of Storybrooke’s classier restaurants. Cora didn’t want to take the chance of running into Emma or her friends, so she picked the place she was sure the woman would never go. “She’s cheap, so we have nothing to worry about.”

Robin sits opposite her with Killian choosing to sit stiffly next to him, not so comfortable with either of them quite yet, and still feeling a little out of place. But he keeps his usual generic smile on his face and acts like he fits in. “It must be nice,” Robin starts to comment, “The mayor having her back like that.” 

The woman across the table gives a validating nod, in agreement with Killian. “Yes, it must be… for her. As for us, something needs to be done. I know that Nolan isn’t an incapable leader, but I think we can all agree Swan isn’t doing her any favors.”

“Or anyone for that matter,” Robin snorts.

They pause the conversation to order a round of drinks and an appetizer, but Cora doesn’t hesitate before picking it right back up as soon as the server’s back is turned. “She thinks she knows what’s best for us, but she’s not even from here. She’s from a realm constantly forgotten and too spineless to be connected to anywhere else, not that anyone  _ wants _ them. What was she hoping to achieve?”

Killian frowns, thinking back to his and Emma’s first introduction. They’d been on the same page for all of a few minutes before butting heads for the first time. They’d become a perfect definition of frenemies, according to Urban Dictionary’s top definition (not that Killian looked), and he remembers Emma’s recent words to him.  _ I’ve always considered you a friend _ .

But now he’s on Cora’s side, and if he’s on  _ her  _ side, he can’t be on Emma’s. So he shrugs and doesn’t volunteer any information Emma had divulged during their interactions.

“Our whole society is going to fall apart, no thanks to her,” Cora sneers. “Unless we can put a stop to all her nonsense.”

“But how?” Robin asks. “The people seem to like her as much as Nolan does.”

“We’re just going to have to find something problematic about her,” Cora says. “She’s fake. A poser. I’m sure that bringing her down won’t be difficult.”

“If we waited for Nolan to step down--”

Cora interrupts Killian without a second thought. “I don’t want to wait for that. I want her to burn  _ now _ without so much as a swan song to end her career.”

“What about Regina?” Killian asks.

“What about her?” 

“I mean, she’s your daughter. She loves Emma. They’re raising your grandchildren. Wouldn’t you want--”

“That’s kind of you, Jones,” Cora starts, her expression impossible to read. “But you need to understand that when it comes to family or power, power is always the correct answer. Regina knows that as well as I do.” Killian isn’t so sure, but he nods anyways. 

“And Rayna?”

Robin scowls, “If we can pull the rug out from Emma’s feet, I’m sure my marriage would improve just as much as the state of our town.”

The two are giving Killian wary looks, as if waiting for him to jump to Emma’s defense, and he can’t have that. He’s worked too hard to get where he is to only be pushed back to the bottom, rejected by the people with the power, so instead of letting them walk over him and think they can push his buttons, he says, “She is a hypocrite, after all.”

That seems to satisfy everyone, especially Robin, who rolls his eyes, “You’re telling me. You know she fights so hard to hold everyone’s magic back, but she has her own source of magic. I wouldn’t put it past her to use it against anyone in town. Maybe that’s why the people like her. She has them charmed, literally.”

“I would hate to take magic away or keep people from it, but in her case, I wouldn’t be happier. She’s a threat.”

“And that’s why we’re gonna bring her down,” Robin grins.

Cora nods back at him. “I’m confident there’s something out there if we look hard enough. Go through her Twitter or something. See if she has any faults we don’t already know about. We’ll turn everyone against her.”

“No one wants her here, if they know it or not. She’s only still around because Nolan asked her to be.”

“Follow the money,” Cora says with a wave of her hand. “There’s always something. It’s just a matter of finding it.”

Killian looks silently between the two until Robin nudges him. “Let’s do it.”

“I’m sure we can find something on her,” Killian adds after a tense beat of silence.

Cora smirks. “It’s going to be nice having her out of the picture. No matter how long it takes.”


	13. one last time

**(emma)**

Emma was a little nervous of Cora’s subtle threat to her, but nothing seemed to happen in the following weeks. Weeks turned into months, and eventually, Emma forgot all about it. Cora was never any nicer to her, but they’ve since reached a place of bitter neutrality.

“Don’t mind her,” Regina continues to tell her whenever Emma expresses her concerns over her mother-in-law.

“I try not to, but I’m afraid she’s going to destroy my career. She has a lot of power,” Emma always explains, but she never elaborates, too afraid of where the conversation could lead them. There’s definitely something the woman could use against her if she ever found it, though Emma hopes she wouldn’t. She made sure to cover her tracks well and give the situation adequate closure.

She hasn’t seen Fiona or Malcolm in three years now, and she hopes to keep it that way. It seems like a lengthy enough time for bygones to become bygones, but with a rat like Cora on the loose, there’s really no telling.

“She has nothing on you, Emma,” Regina tries to comfort her with a soft smile, turning in the bed to curl against her. Emma smiles at her wife’s warmth as she loops her arms around and tugs her closer. She leaves a soft kiss against her temple. “Besides, if she was going to ruin you, she would have already done it. She’s been back for six years now, and she’s never been one to drag out the inevitable if she didn’t have to.”

“You’re right,” Emma finally says as she turns to face her wife. “You always make me feel better.”

“Because I love you, Emma. You deserve the world, and I won’t let her take it away from you.”

The blonde beams before bringing her lips to Regina’s. Their kiss starts slow and builds even slower. A soft whimper escapes Regina’s lips and Emma catches it with her own, smiling as she tugs at her wife’s bottom lip before pulling back. “You’re my favorite person, you know.”

Regina kisses her again. “And you’re mine. Except for our children,” she points out.

“They’re so great that they transcend the favorites ranking system. They’re all automatic winners. You too. Star favorite people. All four of you.”

“Nice logic,” Regina hums.

“That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Emma jokes, but her face falls after a moment. Regina catches it immediately, brushing her palm against her wife’s cheek.

“Don’t let my mother get to you. Everything will be alright. You’ll see.”

Emma believes her.

But when Mary Margaret calls her into her office a week later, Emma becomes a worried mess all over again, and it doesn’t help that the usually composed woman looks just as, if not more, nervous as she does.

“What’s wrong?” Emma asks, taking her usual seat, her green eyes wide as they meet Mary Margaret’s. The woman seems to find her resolve there, her expression shifting into something more serious.

“Nothing’s…” she starts, but then thinks better of her wording. “Cora resigned.”

No elaboration follows, and Emma wonders what the catch is. The longer the pause, the more Emma wonders if there even is a catch at all. Eventually she grins, not noticing that Mary Margaret doesn’t return the joyful sentiment. “That’s awesome!” Emma laughs once, remembering how she’d been expecting the worst. With Cora out of the way, there was no reason to worry about her empty threats, or much of anything for that matter. Killian had been a traitor… in a way, but he almost didn’t count, as spineless as he was. And Robin… well, Rayna basically had him whipped. He would lean back to her with Cora gone.

But Mary Margaret’s eyes are downcast.

“Is it not a good thing?” Emma stops to ask, realizing that something is off. Mayor Nolan dislikes Cora as much as Emma, so she should be happy too.

“She’s going to run for mayor,” Mary Margaret starts to explain, and Emma’s brows furrow.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about… She won’t beat you. Surely you know that,” the blonde reassures.

Mary Margaret shakes her head. “I’m not running against her.”

Emma’s jaw drops. “What?!” she explains, her voice almost a squeal. “Why not? You have to! We need you! Storybrooke has never been the same with you in charge you know. It’s growing and changing for the better. You’ve made _such_ a difference!”

“Emma..”

“Mayor Nolan, all due respect, but I don’t understand. We need you… _I_ need you.”

“And I need my family,” Mary Margaret says, swallowing hard. “I wanted to finish out the time I promised. We don’t have the system set up well yet, so there aren't any term limitations. I have no doubt I could have run again after this one, despite it being so many years in this position, probably _too_ many,” she adds with a laugh. “But I… I’m resigning early. We’ll be having an election soon.”

“But… _why_? If you still have time…”

“That’s exactly it,” Mary Margaret says. “I don’t have time.”

Everything goes quiet, still, and Emma’s face drops as mayor’s words sink in. “You don’t mean…”

Mary Margaret nods slowly. “They found the tumor a month ago. I haven’t told anyone other than David and a few people that have been helping me prepare to leave office. I wanted to tell you sooner, but…” she trails off, looking down at her lap for a beat before looking up at Emma again. “I didn’t want to disappoint you.”

“What?” Emma chokes out. “Mary Margaret, you… You could never disappoint me. I just… I wish…” she shakes her head, trying and failing to hold herself together and make sense of all of this. She starts crying the minute she meets Mary Margaret’s eyes again, now tearing up at the sentiment Emma can’t seem to verbalize.

“I know,” the older woman nods, standing to move around the desk to Emma, who falls right into her arms and sobs once into her shoulder.

“It’s not fair.”

“I know,” Mary Margaret repeats.

For a long moment they stand in the other’s embrace until Emma pulls away. The older woman offers her a comforting smile, even though she’s the one who deserves it the most. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll still be in Storybrooke,” she says. “I’m going to stay home. Spend some time with my family. I think David is planning to resign as Sheriff as well, so he can be home more. He might just be taking a deputy position, depending on how everything goes. I think Ruby will be taking his place.”

Emma nods. She doesn’t ask how much time she has. She doesn’t want to know.

“I’ll still be around, until…” she trails off, swallowing before going on, “If you or anyone needs my advice, or help, I want to do what I can. But I can’t keep leading like I have been.”

“And the election? What if Cora wins?”

Mary Margaret shakes her head. “I don’t think she will.” At Emma’s curious look, she simply says, “You’ll see.”

Emma accepts the answer for now with a nod, still feeling too shocked to fathom another election. She’d run herself if she felt capable, but after this, against Cora, there’s no way. “Are you going to make an announcement.”

“Yes.” The other woman gives her a soft smile, eyes still rimmed red with tears. “And you’re going to help me. One last time.”

“One last time,” Emma repeats.

It’s the hardest thing Emma’s ever written, and it takes them hours to produce  the final result. After the announcement goes live, Mary Margaret will remain the mayor long enough for the message to spread around town, and then there will be a formal ceremony. She’ll give a speech, appointing Emma in charge of keeping the city running until a new mayor has been elected.

But for now, everything is quiet. They sit in the office together while Mary Margaret reads over the announcement one last time while Emma looks on somberly. “It’s perfect, Emma. Thank you.”

Emma nods. “What now?”

Mary Margaret looks off in thought for a moment before turning to Emma, her eyes wide, looking more alive than they have since the blonde entered the room. “Do you remember what I told you? Before we won our independence?”

“History has its eyes on you,” Emma recalls, ducking her head when she starts to feel the tears building again. “We have no control. Who lives… who dies,” Emma continues, her voice cracking.

“Who tells your story,” Mary Margaret finishes for her, smiling through her own tears.

Emma can’t say anything else, so she just nods. It’s a long moment before either speak again. “I don’t want to say goodbye,” Emma whispers. “I know I’m not the only one.”

“You’ll learn to. Everyone else will too, Emma. We all have to say goodbye eventually. Besides, you still have time.” The younger woman doesn’t respond… can’t, and Mary Margaret pulls her into another hug. “You’re going to to great, Emma. Even if I’m not always here to see it.”

When they release the announcement, the town feels just as quiet as Emma’s head does, and it’s unusual. The ceremony is a mix of sorrow and hope for the future, and even Cora doesn’t express any resentment to Emma for being temporarily appointed.

Regina stands by her side at the after-party Mary Margaret thought to host, holding her hand tight, reassuring her. Emma gave her smiles back, even if they never reached her eyes. Rayna approached her a little ways into the party, hugging both her and Regina at the same time, and it isn’t nearly as comforting as the words that leave her mouth next.

“I’m going to run for mayor.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

The election is ridiculous. Emma’s keeping the town together while everyone’s personal lives erupt into chaos. Cora wanted to run herself, but in the end decided she would wait, for whatever reason, and ended up convincing Robin to run instead.

So he does.

Against his wife.

Storybrooke acts like it’s the biggest news to ever hit the town, and it creates a major division that no one was expecting. Killian seems more at a loss than ever before, and even though Emma knows who has her vote, she can’t help but join him on the sidelines, watching the chaos ensue.

“Seriously though,” he asks her one night, “Who do you think is going to win?”

They’d decided to go out for drinks, sitting at the bar in the spot where they first got to know each other and eavesdropping on the chatter around them. It’s nice for them both, and it’s been too long since they shared any interaction that could be described as anything other than neutral.

“Are you kidding me? Rayna!” Emma answers with a snort. “How is that even a question? Robin wouldn’t even win against that old tree in my backyard.”

At that Killian chuckles a little, but otherwise gives nothing away about his position on the matter. “I guess we’ll see. Last I heard all the votes were in.”

The election had been brief. No one wanted to talk about why, and Emma couldn’t blame them, not wanting to think about it herself. Mary Margaret had made her final speech as mayor, not long after her announcement, and she hadn’t hesitated before endorsing Rayna. It was helpful for sure, but the election wasn’t a popularity contest.

Many people knew that Robin winning meant Cora’s influence, and it was either appealing or disturbing, depending on who was asked. Rayna had a strong standing behind her that she had earned. Robin had the same, only most of his support was made up of anti-voters and boot lickers of Cora’s.

“Shouldn’t you be at work, anyway?” Killian laughs, gesturing at the drink in Emma’s hand.

She snorts. “No, they wanted Mary Margaret to make the announcement. She gave me the night off. Told me to go out, hence…” she trails off, raising her glass to Killian’s.

He meets her halfway, “So why me? I know I’m not your first choice for company…”

“Regina is with her sister and the kids. She agreed I should stay away in case the election doesn’t go as expected. Well, as _I_ expect, anyway. You’re the only one who hasn’t expressed a strong opinion on the situation, so naturally, you actually are my first choice here, as someone who isn’t going to verbalize too many opinions.”

“Ah.”

“So you want Robin to win?”

“I never said that.”

Emma shrugs. “Like you said. We’ll see.”

Later that night, Killian and Emma are still holding down the same stools when the bartender turns the TV up and everyone around them goes silent, anxiously listening for the results. A majority of the people in the bar cheer when Mary Margaret announces that Rayna won, the rest leave without a word, and Emma beams up at the screen as she watches her sister-in-law shake Mary Margaret’s hand and give her acceptance speech.

Killian turns to shake Emma’s hand. “It’s been a good run.” Emma frowns. “It _will be_ a good run,” he adds. “Tell her I said congratulations.”

Emma smiles at him, nodding as he leaves, still confused on where he stands, before she remembers that he really _doesn’t_ stand. She snorts into her drink before paying her tab and walking downtown where the celebration is taking place, greeting Rayna with a hug so big she spins her around the room. “Congratulations,” Emma says, beaming at her.

Rayna blushes slightly. “Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”

The blonde can only nod in excited anticipation, not looking away until she feels Regina’s arm slipping around her waist and a finger under her chin, turning her face so that their lips can meet. “Hey,” she says with a soft smile.

“Hi,” Emma responds, leaning over to give her wife a kiss.

“You got drinks with Killian?” Regina asks with a scrunched nose.

“Yeah,” the blonde laughs. “It’s the rum isn’t it? I hate it, but he insists every time.”

Rayna puts on a politician's smile before she asks, “Was he happy with the result? I never know what he believes.”

“Me neither, but I don’t think he was upset. I guess time will tell.”

It does, of course, more or less. For the next two years, Killian doesn’t react much to anything, remaining painfully neutral, except when Cora gives him marching orders. He does his job of course and remains civil with everyone while Rayna manages to solve many of the town’s problems, including effectively passing a few of Emma’s magic regulation laws.

Rumple pays them a visit, shocked and disturbed that Mary Margaret is no longer leading their town, and of course he dismisses her illness when they try to explain.

“You elected…. _Her_?” he sneers, looking at Rayna with disdain and the town at disbelief. “But she’s…. a woman.”

“ _And_? Mary Margaret was a woman too.” Emma challenges and he scoffs.

“But she was married to a man. This one….”

“She’s married to a man too,” Emma points out. “You must be confusing her with her sister. _My wife_.”

“Yes, well. You’re all doomed,” he brushes them off with a wave of his hand before going back to his own realm.

“Don’t worry, Rayna, you’ll show him,” Emma says with an encouraging nod.

It’s exactly what she does.

The first two and a half years of her reign as mayor go as smooth as can be, with Emma by her side, same as the blonde was for Snow, and Cora being taken down a peg, it seemed that nothing could go wrong, no one could do any wrong.

But it was only a matter of time.


	14. what it takes to survive

**(narrator)**

When Emma’s called into City Hall by Cora, she’s immediately on edge. There hadn’t been anything that had happened recently to warrant this, and when she walked into the office, coming face to face with not only Cora, but Killian and Robin too, her face fell, her legs coming to a dead halt. 

“Emma,” Killian greets. No one else says anything, not that she expected them to.

“What’s up?” she asks, aiming for casual. 

The other three don’t respond the same, rather, their arms cross tighter over their chests, Cora’s smirk grows, and Robin mutters under his breath, “We’ve got you now.”

“We have the evidence, Emma,” Cora begins, her voice slimy and deep.

The blonde laughs out loud, “Yeah, okay, I spilled Robin’s coffee.  _ You got me _ ,” she says in mock terror followed by another laugh.

Robin gapes, “It was y--”

“Save it,” Cora cuts him off. “This is about an  _ actual _ issue.” Emma puts her hands on her hips, waiting for a punchline to the joke, but it never comes. Instead Cora says, “We found records of you making payments to a Malcolm Black five years ago.”

“They really add up,” Robin adds.

Emma snorts, “Yeah, okay.” 

“You know he and his wife practice dark magic, don’t you? Rumor has it they’re the only people that might be more evil than Rumpelstiltskin.” Cora laughs, “Oh, I can see it now. We let it out that you gave the city’s money to someone who practices black magic… the very thing you fought so hard to ban from this city was something you were promoting all along”

“You didn’t even report him,” Robin says with a noise of disgust and a shake of his head. “No one knew the Blacks were in town, using their dark magic. We thought they’d left.”

“Point is,” Cora starts as she grins ear to ear, “We got you. Your career is over.”

Emma’s eyes are significantly wider, but she doesn’t say anything until they’ve finished. When there’s a pause, she barks out a single laugh, maintaining her composure. “You have nothing on me. You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“You can’t deny the payments, Emma. We have--”

“The records,” she finishes, “Yeah, yeah , I got that. What you don’t have are the other records.” Robin cocks his head while Cora huffs angrily. Killian stands stoic and observant. “You’re right. I did pay Malcolm Black, and I didn’t report them, but I had good reason. I can prove I didn’t promote dark magic, and I didn’t use city funds, but you can’t tell  _ anyone _ what I’m about to tell you.”

Cora snorts.

“I’m serious. This isn’t anything worth sharing anyways.”

“Try me,” Cora says in challenge, and Emma goes to her office’s lockbox to receive Black’s letter to her from those years ago. Her hands are shaking as she hands it over to Cora, and Robin and Killian lean closer to read it over the woman’s shoulder.

As they read, their jaws go slack, and Cora snorts again, vaguely irritated that this wasn’t quite as bad as she’d expected. Killian looks up at Emma, his brow furrowed, before he steps away. Robin looks moderately uncomfortable.

“It was all a setup. Fiona started it all, and when I refused to keep playing her game, she had her husband ask me for money. Then she threatened me with her magic, told me I could never speak a word of this or she would tell Regina everything.” 

Emma pauses then, glancing nervously to Cora who doesn’t even seem fazed by the fact that her daughter-in-law just confessed to an affair, cheating on her own daughter. She seems to care more about ruining Emma’s career than anything else.

“It was shitty of me to do, I know. I messed up. But I haven’t broken any laws. I haven’t used or condoned the use of dark magic.” She stops again to look at the three people in front of her. 

Cora just shakes her head. “This is ridiculous,” she mutters, looking annoyed and put out. Robin just gives Emma a look and turns to follow Cora as she makes her way to the door. 

“Wait,” Emma says, turning to them. They stop and look back impatiently. “You won’t tell anyone?”

“No, it’s not worth it,” Cora scowls as she stalks from the room. Robin nods in agreement, but Killian continues to stare at the ground for a long while, not so much as glancing up when he finally starts to head out.

“Killian?” Emma reaches her hand out, brushing against his arm enough to turn him back around. He still doesn’t look up. “Can I trust you? I mean… you--”

“I know.” The man shrugs. “We both know what we know.”

“But--”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Emma. Rumors only grow.” He looks apologetic when he finally looks up at her, but he turns around after only a second to walk out, leaving Emma stewing in guilt and apprehension.

**(emma)**

She’d been able to push that whole incident from her mind for the past five years like it was nothing. She’d almost forgotten it was a real thing that happened to her, but now that it’s been brought back up and she’s actually  _ told  _ someone, three people to be exact, and two of the three being people she absolutely doesn’t trust and the third being someone who’s betrayed her more than once, it feels  _ real _ again. It feels like it’ll inevitably get out.

There’s no one she can go to for advice. She can’t ask her wife. She can’t ask Rayna. She can’t ask Roni. Mary Margaret is… well, not faring well enough to ask for water, much less for advice. Belle and Ruby aren’t even in the realm right now, and there’s no way Killian would help her deal with any of this at all.

She’s alone.

Emma’s never been great at dealing with moral conflict on a small scale. She’s always been big on just  _ going for it _ and dealing with different problems or consequences as they arise. People have just believed in her, admiring her confidence and the way she just charges and finds a way to succeed even when it seems like an impossible situation.

Maybe that’s what Emma needs to do now. Steer into the skid.

She’s been good at writing, having written everything for Mary Margaret when they fought for independence, and then even more when they finally had it. She wrote poems for Regina, she typed out expressions of love. She’d gotten attention in her home realm for writing and journalism, proving to them that she had what it took to make it out of there and move the world forward.

Killian’s advice echoes in her mind:  _ Talk less, smile more. Wait for it. _

Then Mary Margaret’s:  _ History has its eyes on you. _

She considers this may be the time to take those words to heart, but then when she considers that this isn’t the kind of information stored in her mind and her mind only anymore, she doesn’t want to take the chance.

So she pulls out her laptop and starts writing.

She starts at the beginning and keeps typing, presenting the problem, rationalizing the actions, owning up to her faults, and presenting it all in such a way that it will sound fair and reasonable, albeit completely immoral. She leaves out no details as she keeps typing. The sound of her fingers on the keys are the only sound in an otherwise too silent room.

She proofreads the document once, then twice. She sleeps on it, and then goes over it one last time. 

She formats it for posting on Storybrooke’s news website before saving it to a flash drive and walking through city hall.

She hands the drive over to the journalism team. “I need you to publish this today,” she says. “It’s been edited, so you can put it up as soon as possible.”

She thanks them as she head back into her office.

_ In the eye of a hurricane there is quiet, for just a moment a yellow sky…  _

This is the only way.

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

It only takes an hour.

The document goes live before Emma’s made it back to her office, and within the next hour, it goes from a secret to the only thing anyone’s talking about on Twitter. Looking at herself being talked about so publicly makes Emma nervous, so she logs out, trying to figure out what to do with herself while her life starts to spiral out of control.

“Better start packing,” Robin snorts from the doorway.

“Excuse me?”

He just shakes his head at her. “You’re incredibly stupid. Not that I’m complaining. Neither is Cora.” Emma frowns at him. “We wouldn’t have told anyone, you know. We don’t care who you sleep with or who you have to pay off to do it. But some people here… some do care.”

“Oh yeah? Like who?”

It’s a bad question, and it only takes fifteen minutes before the answer comes storming into the room, her face twisted in rage. Emma sucks in a breath, and she’s wincing before she knows what to expect. Rayna’s hand smacks against her face hard, and it burns red on impact. “You’re a fucking dog, Emma Swan.”

“Rayna, I--”

“Shut up. I don’t want your excuses.”

Emma gapes at her. “I thought you of all people would understand. I did what--”

“No,” Rayna growls. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I just…” Emma starts again, but Rayna interrupts her with just a look. “Can’t you listen to me?”

Rayna scoffs, “Give me one reason why I should.”

“We--”

“ _ God _ ,” Rayna exclaims, nearly a sob as she turns to bury her face into her hands. When she turns back around to face an Emma, stunned silent by the tears in the brunette’s dark eyes. “And to think I could be in Regina’s position right now.” Emma doesn’t say anything to that. Her eye twitches as she refuses to look away, refuses to give in.

“I thought I was doing the right thing for her. Introducing the two of you, even though it hurt me to give you up. But if I’d known… I could have spared her all of this, and I would have. Her happiness matters to me more than anything. More than myself. More than you.”

Emma opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. She gives in then and tears her eyes from her sister-in-law, trying to ignore the emotions swelling in her chest, feeling like they’re about to explode. She’s past the point of tears, and she knows she deserves it when Rayna clears her throat to bring the blonde’s attention back to her.

“You’re fired. Effective immediately. If you need another job, Ruby is looking for another deputy, but you don’t work for me anymore  _ Ms.  _ Swan.” Emma’s face falls even more. She deserved that as well. “You have an hour to clear out your office. I hope you’re satisfied,” she scowls as she turns to leave.

Emma slouches in her chair, wondering if she should cry now or wait until she’s alone when Rayna stops and calls out over her shoulder, “Oh, and Emma?”

“Yeah?” Emma says, her voice already thick with unshed tears.

“Regina and the kids are at my place. Don’t try and contact them. She doesn’t want to see you.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

Henry and Hope are sitting on the couch in Rayna’s home playing some video game on Robin’s Xbox, Rhys is leaned back in Henry’s lap wide eyes on the screen, watching with great interest. They don’t know why they’re over there, but they don’t ask, and when Regina tells them to go upstairs to get their homework done, and to take Rhys with them, they comply without much complaint.

Regina sighs into the pillow she has hugged to her chest, not looking up when Rayna walks in and hands her a cup of tea. Regina sets it down immediately. “I’m trying to keep things normal for them. Henry’s going to walk them home after school tomorrow.”

“You’ll stay here?”

“Until I get the house back,” Regina says, her eyes trained on the fire in front of her.

“Why don’t you drink some tea,” Rayna offers, gesturing at the mug and lifting her own as if it would change her sister’s mind. Instead she just shakes her head. “Fine. But you should at least talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to say.”

Rayna shakes her head this time. “I know you, Regina. You’ve got a lot going on in that head of yours right now. Talking about some of it will help you. Trust me.”

The younger sister gives a light scoff, muttering “Trust” just under her breath. “I just can’t believe this. I never would have suspected…” she trails off, closing her eyes, exhaling deeply. “Emma was always mine, you know?” she says with a tearful and broken smile. “Now everything is just…” she trails off, at a loss for both words and emotions. 

They sit in silence for a moment before Regina breaks it with a bitter laugh. “Remember when Emma and I met? And we weren’t dating yet but it was only a matter of time? You told me to be careful. You said  _ she’ll do what it takes to survive. _ ” Rayna sits silently, her eyes on the mug in her hands, no longer creating steam. “You were so right. You’re always right.”

Rayna’s eyes land on a box at Regina’s socked feet, stretched out toward the fire’s warmth. “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” Regina asks absentmindedly until she follows Rayna’s gaze. “Oh.” Instead of answering, she reaches for the box and opens it in her lap, staring down at it emotionlessly. 

“Are those what I think they are?”

“Yeah.” Regina picks up one of the letters, glancing at it before pulling a few more items from the box, some are letters, others are receipts from past dates, little post it notes left on the bathroom mirror. “All from Emma. For me.”

All Rayna can do is look down at her sister in sympathy and wait. It’s the kind of thing Regina should talk about, work through even if there are no words that can make any of it better, it would be better than letting the emotions build themselves to the brink of explosion. 

But it’s also the kind of talking that can’t be forced.

Eventually Regina starts, taking a deep breath before her quiet voice breaks the silence. “I keep thinking I can help her.” Rayna blinks in surprise at the words, having not expected anything so easily forgiving. It’s a testament to just how kind her sister is, but with a scoff, the sentiment starts to fade. “It would be so easy to share some of these the same way she shared everything with... _ her _ , to publish her letters to me the same way and mine to her. Maybe if I did, everything could be okay.”

She folds and unfolds the paper in her hand before closing it in her hand, her hands balling it so tight her knuckles go pale. “But it’s not okay,” Regina says, her voice firm as she tosses the balled up letter into the flames. “And I’m not going to clean up her mess.”

Rayna watches as the other woman tosses a few more papers in the the fireplace, wincing a little at all the history just being… obliterated. It’s therapeutic, but burning the evidence won’t make the problem go away. “She screwed up,” Rayna comments, her voice hesitant. “She knows that.”

“If she knows that now, she should have known then,” Regina snaps, sliding closer to the fireplace and dropping in an entire handful. Rayna doesn’t say anything else. “She’s self-centered and stubborn. She always cared about her career more than our family… her legacy more than our future,” she scowls, skimming over the next paper she picks up. It’s a birthday card Emma had mailed her, even though they already lived together at the time. Regina drops it into the flames with no hesitation. 

“She probably thought she was doing the right thing… publishing all of that,” the younger woman scowls. “But now all the world knows is the details of her affair, while her  _ wife _ sits off on the sidelines, invisible.”

She suddenly sets the box down, still half full before turning to her phone. “What are you doing?” Rayna asks, watching as Regina’s stoic expression shifts into anger.

“Deleting everything.”

“Everything?”

Regina nods, her fingers flying as she goes through her accounts, making it look as though she and Emma had never interacted. “Emma doesn’t want me to be a part of her story? Fine. I’ll delete myself from it.” Her finger hovers over the block button, and Rayna wasn’t planning on intervening, but she does this time, reaching for her sister’s arm.

“That might be one step too far.” 

Regina glares at her for a long moment, and Rayna doesn’t drop her wrist until Regina has the phone off and on the floor by her side. “You’re right. Staying on the radar with no connection is worse than being erased completely,” she mutters as she takes the box in her hands and drops the remainder of its contents into the fire. 

Rayna doesn’t try and stop her.

“I can’t believe I saved them all,” she says with a bitter laugh. “Emma saved hers too,” she says, pointing at a second box before picking it up and removing the lid, revealing a chaotic pile of papers similar to those in Regina’s, albeit a bit more colorful. 

“Regina…” The younger woman turns to look at her sister, her eyes firey and lost, and Rayna shakes her head. “Are you sure you should burn hers? I mean, she--”

“She has no right to these,” Regina snaps. “She has no right to  _ me _ . She lost that privilege when she fucked that woman in  _ our  _ bed. I have no sympathy for her anymore.” At that, Regina just tosses the entire box into the fireplace and watches the flames slowly destroy it.

She doesn't cry about it until a week later, after she’s petitioned for divorce and had the papers sent to Emma. Her soon-to-be-ex-wife has one weekend to be out of the house, which Regina is claiming as it still belongs to her father. It’s when she walks into her home for the first time after Emma’s left that she breaks down, sobbing on the top step if the atrium, grateful that her kids aren’t around to see it.

**(emma)**

The process is simple. They aren’t battling for custody or property, and Emma signs the papers without any trouble. She doesn’t want to, but this isn’t about what she wants anymore. Besides, the last thing either of them want is more drama. 

Emma ends up in a tiny loft apartment, similar to her first home in Storybrooke, though this time she doesn’t have a roommate. She has the loft room set up for when the kids stay over every other week. 

She doesn’t make as much, but she manages, working as a deputy alongside David, who never seems to have the energy to do much when he’s at the office. Emma sympathizes with his heartbreak, but he doesn’t sympathize with hers so they never talk much. “You threw away a good thing, Emma. I had to watch the love of my life die, and you just…” he trails off, burying his face in his hands. “I hope you know you messed up, Emma.”

“I wish I could fix it,” Emma says, her voice a whisper.

“Maybe you can,” David offers with a soft smile. “She just needs time.”

So Emma gives her time.

It takes six months for the divorce to become official, and Emma waits another six months before even thinking about contacting Regina. The first thing she does is call her, but there’s no surprise when it goes straight to voicemail.

“Hey…” Emma starts, regretting not thinking about what she would say before she started saying it. Really she just wanted to hear Regina’s voice, even if it was just a recording of the woman saying her name for the sake of voicemail. “I, uh… I just wanted to call you,” she settles on. “I mean, obviously or I wouldn’t be here on your voicemail… Sorry, I’m an idiot.”

She hangs up the phone.

Regina doesn’t call her back, but Henry tells Emma that his other mom snorted when she checked her messages, and it didn’t sound entirely rude, so Emma’s considering it a win. Or at least half a win. 

**(regina)**

By the time Emma calls her, it had been an entire year since they last spoke, and she’s too surprised when she sees the name on her phone and the contact picture to answer, so she doesn’t. Not that she would know what to say.

She’s faced with the same dilemma the following week, but she denies the call and lets it go to voicemail again. This time, Emma says nothing. 

This becomes a pattern, Emma calling around the same time every week, Regina ignoring the call, and Emma sometimes saying something but mostly not. When she does, it’s always incredibly awkward. Just a simple  _ hi _ . Or something like  _ remember that time when that bird pooped on Roni’s head _ ? Or  _ I got heartburn from grilled cheese the other day. I should have listened to you _ . Or  _ Hope beat me in Mario Kart, I hope you’re happy _ .

Eventually, the messages start making Regina smile.

When the calls suddenly stop, it catches Regina’s attention and she marches into her sister’s office for information on what’s going on in Emma’s life. “Is she dating someone? Is she sick? She hasn’t tried contacting me in a month!” and Rayna just snorts.

Regina has a text from Emma waiting for her in the morning when she wakes. 

_ You deserve better, Regina. I just hope you’re happy. _

She types a response, but deletes it. This is a pattern that keeps up all day, until Henry gives her a look after dinner as Regina types the response for the thirty-ninth time that day. “Mom, come on. You’re being ridiculous.”

“What? You don’t even know what I’m doing…” 

“Ma misses you.”

“I know that.”

“She cries a lot,” Hope offers as she walks past them through the room. Regina’s jaw goes slack at the confession. Henry gives her a soft smile before following his sister, and Regina decides not to send the message. It’s too much to consider, that she’d be happier with Emma by her side.

It’s been over two years since Regina has said anything to Emma, and the idea of doing so haunts her daily. She thinks about texting her more than once, or finding an excuse to run into her somewhere, but she never feels strong enough to take that step. 

Regina visits Emma’s Twitter every day, but there’s hardly ever anything new. If she wants information, she usually has to go find another source. Hope is her best bet because she provides information without stopping to think about it first, but all of the kids are with Emma this weekend, and Regina’s getting desperate.

“You miss her,” Rayna says, when Regina asks what’s new.

“No,” the younger sibling says in response, unsure if she’s answering a question or denying the obvious.

Rayna groans.

Everything continues on like this until one night when Regina’s poured herself a second glass of wine even though it’s far too late. If she’d known her phone would ring, she wouldn’t have, but she couldn’t have known.

Emma’s face is on the screen as it lights up, and in a moment of weakness, Regina accepts the call. She hears Emma suck in a breath as soon as the ringing stops, but she remains silent, trying not to cry just at the sound of Emma’s breathing on the other line.

Is it possible to miss someone this much?

For a long while, they stay on the phone together like that, in each other’s presence at a distance, saying nothing but feeling everything. 

The words leave Regina’s mouth unprompted, and she thought she’d avoided crying until she hears her voice crack under the weight of her words.

“ _ I miss you.” _

She hangs up only moments later, just as Emma’s own sob starts to sound.

Her chest feels like it’s burning, and it lets her know more than anything else that she wants everything to be okay again.

But she’s lost, Emma’s lost, and they’re not sure that  _ okay _ will ever be possible.


	15. blow us all away

**(henry)**

When Henry’s moms first split up, he was nothing short of disheartened, but it wasn’t long before he and his sister could clearly see that beneath all the betrayal and heartbreak, they still loved each other.

“Do you think they’ll get back together?” Hope asked him one day, her question not actually sounding like a question at all. “I think they will.”

“Of course they will,” he tells her. “I just think something big has to happen to make them see it.”

“Like what?”

Henry shrugs, “How should I know?”

Hope scowls, rolling her eyes, and Henry grins at the action. “You’re the oldest, and plus, everyone says you got the family brains. If you really got them, you’d think you’d use them more.” She gives up on him then, slipping from the room and leaving him to figure it out himself. 

It’s the kind of thing that’s out of his control. Probably.

The longer they were apart, it seemed easier to doubt that the two would be as they were or that they would remarry, but after nearly three years, they were more or less on speaking terms, if only barely. There weren’t as many looks of resentment and sorrow, and while there weren’t that many smiles, Henry saw they were there, usually when their backs were turned from the other or in the car heading home from the grocery store, the two having run into each other and had a brief, sort of pleasant exchange.

“Mom, come on. You guys should just talk about it.”

Regina stops in place, turning to stare at her son, knowing exactly what he’s referring to. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she dismisses. “Besides, Henry. You’re our child. You hardly have the right to--”

“Mom,” he interrupts with a laugh. “I’m nineteen now. I may be your son, but you can hardly call me a child.”

Regina turns to brush the hair from his eyes with a soft smile. “When did you get so grown up?”

“Does this mean you’ll listen to me?” he asks with the hopeful green eyes he got from his other mother.

Regina smirks, “Maybe.”

He of course tries the same thing on Emma. It doesn’t go as well, but Henry is nothing if not optimistic. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ma. She doesn’t  _ hate _ you. You guys are just in a rough patch.”

Emma shakes her head, “Look kid--”

“I’m not a kid,” Henry reminds her, and his mother’s face softens, as she remembers being his age, full of that youthful fire and believing that nothing could ever make it die down. Maybe Henry’s will never fade. Emma’s sure that hers never would have if she hadn’t messed up so badly, sending her career and marriage down the drain. 

Over the past three and a half years, she’d been able to work her way up to Sheriff of Storybrooke, and even though Rayna cast wary glances at her, still unsure if she should keep her away from Regina or forgive her entirely, Emma was grateful to have earned the position. 

“Look,” Emma says, starting again. “I want to be with your mom again. I still love her, I know you know that, but it has to be up to her. I have no right to ask for a second chance. Not after what happened.”

A long moment of silence passes before Henry looks back to his mother, admitting without hesitation, “She still loves you. I know she does.”

* * *

 

**(henry)**

It’s by chance that Henry ends up at Aesop’s Tables one night, being old enough to get in, but not old enough to drink. He’d been really worried that he’d run into any of his family there, and Nicholas had to reassure him that it wouldn’t be a big deal. “We’re not breaking any rules,” he points out, and Henry shrugs.

It’s more than a little boring overall, and even if they wanted to try ordering alcohol, it would never work. Nicholas almost gets away with it, but then the bartender realizes he’s there with Henry. “Nice try, kid.” Nicholas gapes and Henry gives his friend an apologetic grin. “I know his parents. They’d kill me if they knew I served him alcohol. Well, Emma would anyway. Regina, she’d--”

“Probably do nothing,” another voice scowls from the other side of the bar.

Henry turns towards the young man, his brow furrowed. “What?”

“Come on. You know she’s the least successful Mills there is. A history teacher? Compared to her parents and her siblings and her own wife who have all actually contributed to this town.” He takes a swig of his drink, acting like he hadn’t said anything insulting, but Henry’s only growing more and more irritated at the situation, and in just moments he’s standing, pushing his chair, a determined look on his face.

“Excuse me?” he says, in his best impersonation of the mother this guy is trying to insult. It’s Felix, who was a few years older than Henry in school. They’ve never talked, and it’s starting to become clear why.

“You heard me,” is all he offers in response before ignoring Henry entirely.

The younger man looks helplessly to Nicholas who nods him on. “C’mon, stand up to him,” he encourages in a whisper. “You know your mom would want you to. Both of them.”

_ Someday, Henry, you’re gonna blow us all away. _

Henry nods before making his way over to Felix. “Hey! No one talks about my mom like that,” he says, forcing Felix to turn around with a hand pulling against his shoulder.

For the most part, he seems unaffected, if not slightly amused. “Why not? Your other mom did.”

It’s then that Henry shoves him. “That’s not true!”

“Cause I’m sure they let  _ you _ read the document,” he scoffs. “You were, what… ten?”

“I was sixteen,” Henry corrects. Felix scoffs. “That’s not what his is about, so don’t try to change the subject.”

“Does it matter? I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, and if you knew what was good for you, you’d shut your mouth and back off, but… oh  _ wait _ , you won’t do that because you’re just like your other mom. You never know when to shut up.”

It’s all he can do not to punch Felix in the face, but that would just make things worse, for him and both his moms. “Take it back. All of it.”

The other man laughs, “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

“I don’t think I am,” Henry responds, his eyes fierce. 

“I’m not apologizing so either fuck off or meet me in Neverland,” he concludes. “Assuming you know anything about what happens there.”

“Of course, I do.” Henry’s arms cross tighter across his chest.

“Alright, then I’ll see you tonight. One hour,” he says as he pays and stands to leave. 

“You’re not really going to duel him are you?” Nicholas asks as soon as the door closes behind Felix.

“You heard what he said!”

“Yeah, but… a duel, Henry? Really?” His eyes are set, stubborn, and determined, and Nicholas sighs. It was worth a shot, at least. “At least get some advice. You know nothing about duels.”

“Hey kid,” the bartender says, leaning over to get Henry’s attention, “You know who you could ask, don’t you?”

He doesn’t even care that the man had called him kid before he’s racing out the door of the bar. As his second, Nicholas is going to meet him at the portal before they have to go, but in the meantime, Henry is far too amped up to stand by and wait. Besides, he has a place to be, and some advice to receive.

**(emma)**

Henry bursts through the door to Emma’s loft apartment, talking a mile a minute about the entire situation, and his mother just blinks over at him, slack jawed and lost.

“Henry, slow down. What are you talking about?”

“I’ve never been in a duel before, Ma. I need you to tell me what to do.”

Emma shakes her head with a bemused laugh. “Okay, well, you go to Neverland with whoever your second is, and then you’ll borrow magic for the duel itself. You’ll look your opponent in the eyes and hold your hands up in the air, closed, so they know you’re not planning on blasting them with magic. The sooner you do the better.” Henry nods, and his mom’s brow wrinkles. “Why?”

“I told you, I’ve never been in a duel before.” 

It takes a minute for his words to really sink in and when they do, Emma’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? Henry, I can’t let you duel someone! Your mother would  _ kill _ me if she found out I gave you duel advice!”

“You basically already did! You gave me your DNA and honestly, Ma… that’s probably what got me into this mess to begin with. Mom would understand.” Emma squints at him. “Besides, you’ve already told me what to do,  _ and _ the whole reason I’m doing this is  _ for  _ you and Mom, so really, you should be thanking me.”

“Okay, look, if you’re going to go, I’m at least giving you some of my magic. You shouldn’t have to use it, but it’s better than anything you could borrow in Neverland. When’s the duel.”

“I’m supposed to meet Nicholas in like twenty minutes.” 

Emma lets out a deep breath before taking Henry’s hands, transferring enough magic for the duel. “I don’t like this, Henry.”

“I’m gonna be fine. Remember? I’m not a kid anymore.” Emma eyes him nervously as the magic transfer comes to an end. He looks more grown up, sure, but he’s still her son. Her’s and Regina’s son, fighting to be more than just that. It’s simultaneously the reason Emma is even allowing this and the reason she wants to do everything in her power to stop him.

But it’s also because of that that she knows he’ll just go anyway.

“So, you said I shouldn't have to use this?” he asks, flexing his fingers as the magic settles into them.

His mom shakes her head. “No, it’s not worth it, taking this kid’s life. Just because it’s legal over there, doesn’t mean you should try it.”

“Yeah, but what if he shoots me instead? I don’t want to die, Ma.”

“If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll do the same. Most disputes die, and no one shoots,” she tells him. His shoulders relax a little at the news. 

“Okay. Thanks, Ma. I should go so I can tell Nicholas everything.”

He stands and she follows suit, pulling him into a hug before he goes. “Be smart, okay Henry? And be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too, Ma. I’ll see you later,” he tells her, pulling away and giving her another smile just before the door closes.

* * *

 

**(henry)**

The portal to Neverland is just another portal. He’s been through plenty by now to know that most of them don’t stand out. Going through them feels the same, even if it’s a different type of portal. There’s still ripples of magic, your hair still stands on end the second you’re in between each side, and there’s always that jagged thrum in your chest, an almost uncomfortable affirmation that it’s been done, but something about  _ this _ portal is off, almost heavier.

He tries to keep on a brave face, unaffected by everything around him, the feelings swirling inside his chest and the tingling of his mom’s magic at his fingertips. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Felix says, getting his borrowed magic from the shadow while Henry waits nervously in place. He watches Nicholas go to talk to Devin, who shakes his head, denying any chances of calling the duel off, and before he knows it, he hears the announcement that the duel is coming to a start.

His hands are in the air, together just like his ma told him, his eyes on Felix’s.

_ one _

_ two _

_ three _

_ four _

_ five _

_ six _

_ seven----- _

Everything goes dark.

* * *

 

**(emma)**

An hour ago, Henry had been standing in her living room, giving her a reassuring smile that he would be  _ fine, _ that he was fighting for both his moms, that he was doing what he believed was right, and Emma had let him go. She let him walk out the door because she remembered what it was like to be young. She knew what it was like to be driven to fight for the people you loved. 

If she’d believed this could actually go south, she wouldn't have let him leave.

She’s never known anyone to die in a duel before. 

An hour ago, Henry grinned at her as he left, but now he’s on the ground, wincing in pain. They couldn’t move him too far without making his pain worse, so the doctor was doing what he could just next to where they’d managed to get Henry through the portal. 

Emma sobs when she gets to him, bypassing everyone to kneel at his side. She’s speechless and broken, and when he tries to give him the same comforting smile he had an hour ago, she falls apart. 

At this point the doctor has backed away. He says he’s done what he could, that a magical injury like this could have been sustained had it been made in Storybrooke, but as it happened in Neverland, with borrowed Neverland magic, his chances of survival were slim. Felix had hit him on the right side of his chest, missing the heart enough to give him a small amount of time, but close enough to take it all away.

“It’s okay, Ma,” Henry says, but Emma can only shake her head, knowing it isn’t but wanting it to be, more than anything. The pain in Henry’s voice sounds the way she feels, her heart shredding inside her chest. 

“Henry,” she says, but her voice breaks.

“I did what you said, Ma. I--”

“I know, kid. You did everything just right,” she nods, brushing the hair out of his eyes, resting her hand on his cheek, brushing Neverland soil from his face.

“As soon as they started counting, I put my hands up. Just like you told me,” he sucks in a ragged breath and lets it out with a small whimper. He can’t maintain the smile he’d been trying to keep for her.

“I know, Henry. I know,” she says as she tries to provide her own smile, but it’s betrayed by the tears in her eyes. One of them falls and blends with his. He opens his mouth to say something else but Emma shushes him. “You don’t need to explain, Hen. Stay alive, okay?” He nods his head once before falling into silence, his eyes wide as they remain trained on Emma. 

She wishes she could say something, do anything to make this better.

“Henry?!”

Regina’s voice takes Emma’s breath right out of her chest, the despair so strong that it’s almost tangible as she drops to her knees at Henry’s other side. Emma leans back to give Regina room to give their son attention, “Henry,” she sobs out taking in his state before her eyes meet Emma’s, tender and broken. “What happened?” she asks.

Emma can only stare helplessly back at her, shaking her head. Lost.

“Is he going to be okay?” she tries again, and Emma can almost see the fierceness in her eyes, preparing herself for some course of action, but a second after looking into Emma’s her resolve breaks. Henry has to know what’s happening, he must, but even so, neither of his mothers want to put it into words.

“Mom?” Henry asks from the ground, his eyes on Regina. She takes his hand in hers and tries to smile down at him, but she’s cracking at the edges. “Mom, I’m sorry…” he starts through his own tears. 

“Shh, mi hijo.” Regina shakes her head at him with a soft noise to quiet him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” One of her hands rests on Henry’s face, the other near his stomach, inches down from the wound, still simmering from the blast of the magic. Emma moves her own hand away again, wondering if she should back away and give Regina a quiet moment with their son, as she had had only moments before, but Regina shifts before she can, resting her hand on top of Emma’s. They share a look before their attention goes back to Henry, his eyes on their joined hands.

He smirks, chuckling a little before realizing it's too much and the laugh is washed out by a pained wince. “Henry,” Emma pleads. “Save your strength, okay?”

“Okay,” he says through his gritted teeth, trying to stay strong for them, but he’s growing weaker and weaker by the second, more tired as he fights to stay alive. His face shifts in seconds as he releases a sob, keeping his eyes open as best he can, trained on both of them. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Emma and Regina are a moment away from falling apart, but they do everything they can to keep themselves level, staying strong for their son when he can’t. They reassure him that he could never, telling him they love him until he smiles up at them.

“Mom, remember that lullabye you used to sing me? As a baby? And you tried to teach it to Ma but she always messed up the pronunciation?”

Regina laughs once, watery as she glances over at Emma, who blinks back tears, trying to smile at them both. “You want to?” Regina asks her. Henry beams up at them, and for a moment, Emma can forget that this is even happening. She nods, prompting Regina to start the lullabye.

She begins and Emma joins in shortly after, not giving a damn about messing anything up this time. The words all come to her as if it was just yesterday she and Regina were standing over Henry’s crib, singing down to him, even though she hasn’t sang the lullabye in almost ten years. Regina slides as close as possible to Henry, and Emma follows suit. He starts to sing along with them, but struggles for the breath to keep up, and by the time they’ve made it to the chorus, it’s only Emma and Regina singing, “ _ Duérmete mi niño, duérmete mi amor, duérmete pedazo de mi corazón _ .”

Their voices fade the closer they get to the end, Regina choking out the last line as Henry lies lifeless between them, and Emma pulls his body into her arms, allowing Regina to lean against them. “I wish we’d had more time,” Regina says as she weeps. “This wasn’t enough.”

“I know, baby. I know,” Emma cries into her hair. The term of endearment slips out so naturally that she doesn’t try to correct it, and Regina doesn’t notice. They sit there together for a long while until Regina remembers with a start that she’d been cooking, a blunt reminder that even though their world feels like it’s ending, everything keeps moving forward.

They stand and watch as their son’s body is taken to the morgue, their hands still adjoined, and they remain that way as the two walk back to 108 Mifflin together. They don’t even notice until they’ve walked through the front door and into the kitchen where Hope has successfully kept the house from burning down, stares at them quizzically and asks, “Ma, what are you doing here?”

Before she can ask where Henry is, Regina drops her ex-wife’s hand and nudges her toward their daughter. She leads her into the living room to sit her down. Rhys looks up at them from the floor, his eyes wide, and Regina leads him to the couch with his sister. 

They stare at each other for a few beats, eyes still wet, faces still red, and Regina is the one to finally turn to their children and tell them what happened. They spend the rest of the night holding each other together in the living room, dinner forgotten.

Emma starts working more night shifts.

At first the concern is that it’s not going to be good for her, that it’ll give her too much time to think, but she finds that she likes the quiet. She doesn’t fill it, just sitting in her patrol car in the dead of night, surprised that she doesn’t find it boring.

She wishes Henry were there, remembering the times when he finally got to sit in the front seat and always wanted to pretend they were on a stakeout or some kind of special operation, long before Emma even became Sheriff.

Her schedule becomes full of work, unlike it used to be. She’s distracted. She never sleeps, and one day when she’s delivering paperwork to Rayna’s office, the woman has had enough. “Emma, go home. I’m not going to have a Sheriff that can’t do her job because she doesn’t know how to take care of herself.”

Emma’s eyes widen as she looks up at her.

“I’m not firing you again. I’m sending you on temporary leave, You’ve just lost your son. You need to take time to deal with this.”

“But I--”

“You and Regina both,” she says, waving Emma out one last time.

It’s what prompts her to start the walk to 108 Mifflin instead of to her own apartment late that night. It’s past Hope’s bedtime, but Regina is still up, evident by the faint light coming from the study.

She opens the door only moments after Emma’s knocked, and she invites her in with no trepidation. 

It’s quiet as they walk to the study.

It’s quiet as they sit next to each other, an expectant look in Regina’s eyes, brightened just a little, almost imperceptibly since the incident. The tension between them either entirely fizzled out over time or faded into irrelevance under the weight of all that has happened.

They’re looking at each other for the first time in too long, aged from stress and bad news, but they smile at each other like two people who have just found their footing again. They both open their mouths to speak at the same time before they laugh and Regina motions for Emma to go ahead.

Emma sighs, her eyes on the ground before she looks back to Regina. “Look, we’ve been through a lot, Regina, and I…” she sighs again, almost defeated as she gives up trying to sound eloquent in favor of just saying everything she wants to say, everything she means. “I miss you. I hate everything that’s happened, and if I could just go back, do it all again… there’s so many things I wouldn’t do. There’s even more things I would though… spend more time with you, go visit Zelena with the rest of the family.” She pauses for a moment, keeping her composure as best she can as she exchanges watery smiles with Regina. “I’d keep Henry here with us… I know I don’t deserve it, but I think we could both use a second chance. It doesn’t have to mean anything big, we don’t have to be  _ together _ , or whatever. Just… if you could still be in my life, if I could still be around. I want to be here for you, Regina. That w--”

It’s then that Regina’s lips press against hers effectively cutting her off, and the two melt together as if there had never been any separation at all. It’s a brief kiss, but warm and forgiving all the same, and they smile at each other as soon as the brunette pulls away. 

“That would be enough,” Emma finishes.


	16. if you had to choose

**(narrator)**

Life doesn’t stop.

It doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t have sympathy, and the town moves right on into the next election. If Emma’s life hadn’t gone so drastically downhill, she might have run this time, or at least she would have considered it, but she’s so out of the loop after everything that she doesn’t even realize it’s happening.

Rayna brings it to everyone’s attention that there’s no consistency in their mayoral position and suggests in forming more structured and definite terms. It’s a great idea, especially because Cora is forming a campaign to run for the next term once her daughter has officially stepped down. 

Cora’s campaign is led by Robin, who was planning to run again until his to-be opposition found out, and she essentially bribed him to run her campaign instead. He hadn’t liked this option as much as the former, but he followed through with minimal complaint, leaving the whole town wondering who Cora would be up against for the position.

The entire start to the election is nerve wracking, and Rayna isn’t interested in handing her position to someone who she doesn’t trust, which is why it was ironic that she wants Emma, despite everything, to jump into the race and run. She paces in her older sister’s living room during a day trip to Oz, fretting over the whole thing.

“I thought we weren’t on speaking terms with Emma…” Zelena says, fishing for information she’s missed out on. She’d come to Storybrooke for Henry’s funeral, so she’d seen Regina and Emma standing together, but as far as she knows, they aren’t together-together and her whole family is still on the anti-Emma train for Regina’s sake.

Rayna sighs, “After what happened…” she shakes her head. “Regina has forgiven her. If she’s happy being back with Emma, then I’m not going to sabotage that with my own personal feelings.”

“Your own personal feelings which are…? If you want Emma to run and win the election, you obviously have more than secondhand forgiveness for her.”

“What are you saying?” Rayna asks, her pacing coming to a halt.

Zelena laughs once, shaking her head. “I can’t believe I have to write this out for you,” she says first, more to herself than her sister. “You’ve always loved Emma, haven’t you? You were always going to forgive her, whether Regina did or not.”

“That’s--”

“The facts,” Zelena interrupts. “But look, sis. I don’t think Emma should run. She just suffered a great loss, and even if you trust her, she still doesn’t have the following to win. She could… I don’t know. Endorse someone. But other than that, her role in this won’t hold as much value as you would like it to, and certainly not enough to get more votes than our mother,” Zelena scowls. Rayna’s shoulders sag. “Besides, I think she needs a break. She and Regina both.”

Rayna continues to sit in defeat, trying to maintain a clear head in all of this. “You’re right. But all of this makes me nervous. I wish I could just continue to be mayor, but I think I’ve done all I could. If things had gone differently, I would have encouraged Regina to run. She would be great at it.”

“No,” Zelena laughs. “She’s the smart one for staying out of the political scene. The only one of all of us who has never been in charge. She’ll live longer for it, I bet. Just you wait.” Rayna rolls her eyes. “Anyway, who do you think mother’s opposition is going to be?”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

_ TALK LESS. SMILE MORE. _

_ DON’T WAIT FOR IT. ELECT JONES FOR MAYOR. _

No one knows it’s happening until his campaign explodes. It’s the biggest running campaign Storybrooke has ever seen, and if anyone expected anything like it, they would have guessed it would come from Cora, not Killian.

And yet…

He’s making speeches at every turn. He’s handing out pamphlets in grocery stores. He’s doing everything short of giving candy to children, and it seems to be working, at least a little bit. People are talking to him, nodding along with what he has to say, but they aren’t flocking to him the same as Cora’s voters seem to be.

Cora also has commercials running, and every time one of them airs, Regina shuts the television off. Neither of them are on her side with this, still offended that she never came to Henry’s funeral and didn’t even so much as offer her condolences for Henry, but things change when they find out Killian is her opposition.

The start of a political commercial sounds on the TV and Regina scoffs lightly and reaches for the remote, but Emma rests her hand on the brunette’s to stop her. “Wait. This isn’t…” she gapes when she sees Killian on the screen, talking everyone’s ear off. Emma’s sure she’s never heard him say so much at once, even though he still isn’t really  _ saying _ anything. Just talking. Using words people want to hear. It’s typical really.

“Is he serious?” Regina laughs.

“Sounds like it… I don’t get it,” Emma says, shaking her head. “This isn’t like him at all. Is this a way for him to cope with losing Milah? Does he really think he can win this?”

“Maybe he wants you to endorse him, Ma,” Hope shrugs as she walks by. “You guys are friends, right?”

Emma frowns. She’s not sure anymore. They haven’t spoken much lately, and when they have, it hasn’t been about much. Yes, they still wave to each other across the street, and yes, he attended Henry’s funeral, but other than all the standard interactions of people who are friendly with each other, she would hardly consider him a friend anymore, and even if she did, it would be with the Killian she knew. She’s not sure about whoever this Killian is, openly campaigning and running for mayor out of nowhere. “I’ll think about it.”

“But what about Grandma? You don’t want her to win, do you?”

Honestly, Emma doesn’t know anymore.

She doesn’t really care, but when approached about it, there’s only so many times she can dismiss the question.

“You’re going to have to choose, you know,” Rayna tells her one day. The election is happening and people want to know who you’ll be voting for.”

“Why do they care? Why can’t they ask… I don’t know. Anyone else.”

“Emma, even if you don’t believe it, you’re still an important figure. You’re in an interesting position here, torn between your mother-in-law and your long-time friend, both with whom you’ve had disputes with. Everyone knows you’re going to cast a legitimate vote, and it’s going to be one you’ve put more than just a few vague thoughts into. I think it would be wise for you to endorse someone.”

“So, what? Do I hold a press conference or something?”

Rayna shrugs, “Or something.”

* * *

 

**(narrator)**

The interview gets released in the paper only a few days later. Titled,  _ If You Had to Choose _ , the story featured Emma Swan and her thoughts on the election. It brushed over some of her history with the Mills family, her move to Storybrooke, her introduction to Killian, and a few unfortunate details of her more recent past, but the part everyone cares about is who Emma would be promoting for the upcoming election. 

The only one to know anything of Emma’s decision prior to publication is Regina, who had been present for the whole interview, but eventually, it’s all anyone’s talking about.

 

_ Interviewer: So, Emma, the whole reason we’re here today is to learn about your endorsement. If you had to choose, would you vote Mills or Jones? _

 

_ Swan: I’ve given this a fair amount of thought. But for me, the choice is clear. In this upcoming election, my vote will be going to Cora Mills. We’ve had many disagreements in the past, but I believe she has what it takes to keep this town going strong. Killian Jones is a great man, but he is spineless and incapable of this much responsibility. His words are empty, and there’s nothing supportive I can say in response to his campaign. _

 

* * *

 

**(killian)**

Killian had been thrilled when he found out that Emma would be doing an interview with the paper about the election. No doubt it was a way to have her endorse either him or Cora, and if anyone were to ask him who he thought Emma would choose, he would say himself. No question.

It wasn’t a matter of arrogance, it simply made sense. Emma and Cora had never been on the same page, and even if Emma was biased enough to choose Killian because they were friends, he knows she wouldn’t.

But then the interview gets released.

Killian reads Emma’s last answer over so many times until he can hear it playing on repeat in his head, so clearly that he has it memorized.

He’s so distracted by Emma’s words that the election flies by that day, and before he can wrap his head around the  _ whys _ of it all, Cora is being announced as Mayor and telling Killian to send Emma her thanks if he happens to see her.

Oh, he’ll see her alright.

The next thing he knows, he’s on his way to the Sheriff’s station, all but kicking down the door to enter. He doesn’t wait even a second to greet Emma as he approaches the woman at her desk.

“How  _ fucking  _ dare you,” Killian spits out before he can stop himself. Emma blinks back at him from her desk, stunned. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, Swan. You know damn well what you did.”

Emma’s lips press tight together as she turns away, going back to focus on what she was just working on. She smirks a little, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by Killian. He can hear her now, thinking she knows him so well, that he’s going to stop here. That he’s going to  _ talk less _ and  _ smile more _ and let her off the hook just because he’s never expressed himself properly. 

_ Talk less, smile more _ , he scowls to himself. Right now he’s doing neither.

He doesn’t wait for her to look back up, even though she’s clearly not doing anything important, faking her attention on her laptop until he decides to give up.

He’s not this time.

She jumps when he reaches down and slams her laptop closed, “Hey! I’m talking to you.”

“Oh, really? I just thought you were thinking out loud,” Emma sasses back.

Killian scowls. “Cora told me to thank you, you know.” The blonde raises an eyebrow. “For the endorsement,” he all but growls. “I thought you hated her.”

“She is my mother-in-law, after all.”

“That’s a cop out.” Emma remains silent, leaning back in her chair but refusing to meet Killian’s eye. He takes the seat across from her, leaning over so he can speak in a hushed tone, less alarming to the rest of the people in the office. “You’ve never agreed with Cora, and you know it. I know you and I haven’t always been on the same page, but you said we were friends.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t endorse people because they’re my  _ friends _ .”

“You’ve agreed with  _ me _ more times than you did with your  _ mother-in-law _ ,” Killian points out, his lip curling up. Emma snorts. “Tell me why you endorse people then. Tell me how this isn’t personal.”

“I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

There’s a moment where Killian feels the anger in him rising to the surface, almost in a physical form, and all he wants to do is punch the nearest wall. He’s never been prone to violent tendencies, but he can’t get the thought of his mind now, growing more and more frustrated at Emma, looking far too unfazed by this whole interaction. Eventually his fist clenches before he drops it back down to his side as he admits in a low voice, “You always do this.”

“Do what?” Emma asks innocently.

“You’re always in my way. You’re there every time I fail, usually right in the way between me and what I’m aiming for.”

The blonde shrugs. “Look, I think you’re overreacting. I get it. You’re upset about losing to Cora, and I can’t say I blame you, but you don’t need to manipulate the entirety of our history together, especially not when I have records of everything.”

“Journals are subjective,” Killian scowls. 

“Email records aren’t. Neither are text records, Twitter mentions, and whatever written information we have. Not to mention memory extraction…”

“Oh, shut up. You rejected all uses of memory tampering. But that’s a red herring. This isn’t a matter of records. You’ve betrayed me every step of the way. I’m fucking finished.”

Emma snorts into her drink. “You didn’t lose because I endorsed Cora. You lost because you’re fickle, spineless, and unpredictable. You stand for nothing, you’ll fall for nothing, and everyone can see it. We don’t need someone like you helping to move this world along, or more accurately, hindering this world from moving along.” Killian’s knuckles grow whiter with each passing second, his whole body seeming to tremor as he reacts to Emma’s words. She shrugs again as if it could relieve the tension in the room. “I’m not trying to start a fight with you. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Facts…” Killian repeats, seething as he stares down at the desk, stepping back trying to achieve some level of casualness, but failing so  _ so  _ entirely. He laughs, empty and hollow, with a shake of his head that validates nothing but his own anger.

“I said what I said.” Her voice is solid, like a wall building itself in Killian’s way. Her intentions don’t matter, and while her words are getting to him, they’re starting to lose meaning under Killian’s irritation. The decision he comes to in that moment isn’t one he would have ever made, but in this moment, he knows this is the only way.

This is the right choice.

He’ll do whatever it takes.

Killian stiffens, almost hesitant. “I’ll see you in Neverland then. Just before daybreak.” His voice absent of any intonation.

Emma nods once to confirm before Killian leaves.

Her world will never be the same.


	17. death doesn’t discriminate (it’s only a matter of time)

**(emma)**

Emma wakes up the next morning before Regina, and she debates sneaking away, knowing that by the time she gets home after her spat with Killian, her wife will still be asleep. She would never even have to know Emma left, continuing to sleep soundly.

This is something Emma’s missed, sleeping next to Regina, listening to her gentle snores, feeling her breath against her neck as she looped an arm around Emma’s waist and latched on. Emma rolls to face her now, smiling as she leaves gentle kisses to the woman’s face. It’s so early, much earlier than she wants to be awake, and really all Emma wants to do is curl up next to Regina and drift off.

These mornings had been few and far between, especially far between after everything, but after she’d moved back into the house, after she’d spent weeks in the guest room alone, she’d finally made it back to this point, so she decided that it wouldn’t hurt to snuggle up for one more moment.

Regina hums when she feels Emma nuzzling into her hair and her neck, and the blonde is blessed with the brunette tugging her closer and giving her a sleepy kiss on the nose.

“I love you, Emma,” she says, her voice a little sluggish but still beautiful.

Emma kisses her back, her lips brushing softly against the other woman’s, and they both let it deepen until Emma pulls back. Regina pouts. “I’ll be back, okay, babe?”

“Where are you going? It’s too early,” Regina whines, holding Emma closer still as if she could hold the stubborn blonde there.

“Nothing serious,” Emma answers booping Regina’s nose lightly. “Get some sleep, okay?”

“Without you?”

Emma smiles, but Regina misses it with her eyes fluttering closed once again, clearly exhausted. “I’ll be back soon,” the blonde says, giving her one last kiss before slipping out of bed and readying herself.

She slips quietly out the door, hoping that Regina sleeps well, and that their moment was enough to prove how hard Emma wants to try to make this better, enough to show Regina her love, just… enough.

She hopes this encounter is enough for Killian.

* * *

 

**(killian)**

Killian doesn’t get nervous. 

It’s just something that never happens, not anymore. Over the years, he’s managed to curb any reckless behavior, has become  _ sensible _ enough to play it safe, and so far it had worked out fine until Emma Swan came swooping in, diving in like she was the greatest thing since fucking sliced bread, and all Killian had to do was sit and watch all of his hard work fall between the cracks. 

He’s had  _ enough _ .

But now, standing on the soft Neverland soil, his hand tremors just slightly and he refuses to look up, not even when he hears the telltale noise of someone else stepping through the portal. It whirs around and around, and he knows it’s a sound he’ll have to get used to, at least for the few following moments.

“Hey,” Liam suddenly says from next to him, nudging his shoulder just slightly. Killian scowls without looking up at his friend. “You okay?”

“Fine,” he answers. “You know these things are never serious.”

“Yeah, but--”

“They  _ aren’t _ ,” he insists. “No one ever shoots outside of a handful of times, and even then, it’s hardly ever fatal. Besides…” Killian almost adds  _ I could never kill her _ , but he holds his tongue. Instead he turns away from Liam just to end the conversation, but the sight he’s met with only seems to make things worse. There stands Emma Swan, talking to her own second, someone Killian recognizes as Mulan, one of the greatest fighters he’s ever met.

Emma’s wearing her red leather jacket, an item Killian has come to associate with the blonde’s cocky confidence, which she seems to be sporting as well as she whispers to Mulan about god only knows what and doesn’t even spare Killian a look.

From behind him, Liam hums. “I thought she was bringing that other guy.”

“What?”

“I overheard her the other night. She was talking to that other guy… August, I believe. He was going to be her second.” Killian doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know how to. “Wonder what that means,” Liam says, his voice casual and unconcerned. “I’m glad this isn’t going to be a big ordeal because I’d hate to go up against Fa Mulan. I wouldn’t stand a chance.”

_ Oh, and I have a chance? _ Killian thinks, not wanting to say it out loud for fear that’ll make it true. Instead he hums in response but otherwise says nothing, his eyes locked on Emma. 

Mulan drifts away, leaving the blonde standing alone. The absent minded smile has fallen from her face as she looks everywhere but at Killian with a furrowed brow. For a moment, it strikes him that this is the same ground where Henry had been killed in his own duel. At first there’s pity swelling in Killian’s chest, but then he remembers Emma’s accusatory, obnoxious voice as she all but threw him to the ground, sees that stupid red leather that she wears when she wants to  _ win _ . It’s then that sympathy loses out to an illogical jealousy. 

Suddenly, he’s sure that Emma’s going to kill him. She may have lost a child, but she still has Hope and Rhys at home who will go on living with two parents, while Killian gets killed, leaving Cordelia an orphan. 

Surely, Emma wouldn’t want that.

Surely, Emma would sympathize.

But she looks up then, and her green eyes lock with his. She doesn’t smile. She doesn’t nod. She just takes her position, looking even more ready to have this over with than Killian, with that same fierce, stubborn determination in her eyes that she’s always had, only this time it’s even bolder, and Killian knows what’s coming.

He turns to Liam one last time, ready to speak, but his mouth is dry, and he settles for a curt nod before his second goes to meet Mulan in the middle before the duel. They both seem to know there’s no sorting this out without Killian and Emma actually facing off, but they go through the motions anyway. Mulan gives Killian a look before she retreats, and all Killian takes from it is pity. A confirmation that he doesn’t stand a chance, and he  _ knew _ he didn’t.

Emma has her own magic. The magic Killian has on him is borrowed, less strong and harder to control.

This only means one thing.

Killian has to strike first.

The blood pounds in his ears so loud, he can hardly hear the count, but he knows when the signal starts, so he counts in his head, trying to ignore the racing thrum of his heart and Emma’s concentrated expression as the glow of magic lights up in her fingertips, still hovering towards the ground.

_ onetwo _

Killian’s hands twitch.

_ threefourfive _

Emma remains frozen in place.

_ sixseven _

(Killian doesn’t want to wait this time.)

_ eightnine _

Emma’s clasps her hands over her head in the same second Killian shoots his magic.

_ ten _

The magic strikes her square in the chest.

Killian gasps, reaching toward the shooting magic as though he could stop it.

Emma falls back.

Killian’s breath catches.

Time stops.

* * *

 

**(killian)**

The minute Emma’s body hits the ground, Killian swears his heart stops too. He tries to run over there, but Liam grabs his arm and pulls him back. Mulan even intervenes. “You need to  _ go _ ,” she says, her voice stoic.

“Did I really--”

“ _ Go _ .”

Killian ambles through a second open portal, Emma’s body being rushed through the one left whirring open, and he ends up back in Storybrooke. There’s a bar right in front of him and it seems too intentional, but he floats through the doors anyway, looking like someone who just lost the only thing that mattered.

_ Can you lose something you exterminated yourself? _

He orders a shot of rum before ordering another. And another, and another until he can’t understand any of the talk around him, though he can only tune it out for so long.

“Emma Swan is dead,” someone to his right says, too loudly.  _ Talk less _ \--

“What?” Killian rasps.

“In a duel,” the man says, clearly not recognizing Killian. “She was barely alive long enough to get to the hospital, but she lasted long enough to see her wife one last time, or whatever they are to each other now. She was in such poor condition that Whale let Regina climb up into the bed next to Emma. I don’t know if she was conscious enough to tell her wife was there, but she died in her arms.”

“Fuck,” he says, his voice broken. The entire situation only feels worse with each passing second, and he keeps his head down, his face hidden as he orders another shot.

“Yeah, and after losing her son in a duel. In the same spot. Can you imagine?”

“Death doesn’t discriminate.”

“I’ll drink to that,” the other guy says, clinking glasses with Killian before downing the drink. Killian’s already ordered the next when the guy recognizes him. “Wait, you’re--”

“I killed her,” Killian admits, the words coming out for the first time. He wishes it were the only time, or that they didn’t have to be said at all, but this is the kind of fact that will never  _ not  _ be true. This is the kind of unforgiving fact that sticks around forever, the kind of action that he’ll be paying for forever.

He shudders to think of all the time he stole from Emma. All the potential.

The man is staring at Killian, shocked that he’s just shared an entire exchange with Emma Swan’s killer, and Killian just shakes his head. “You don’t have to talk to me anymore. I’ll buy your drink. You can go if you want, just don’t tell them I’m here.”

He feels like a coward.

The man chooses to stay and have another drink. He buys one for Killian even though he’s probably had more than enough by now. “You look like could use it. Plus, no one’s on your side anymore. No one will be, maybe ever.”

Killian nods slowly, sipping at his drink instead of swallowing it all in one go. The space between the two men fall into a comfortable silence before Killian lets out a single, humorless laugh. “There was enough space for both of us. I can’t believe I couldn’t see that.” 

The man looks curiously at him, and Killian can only shake his head with another bitter laugh. 

“I felt so threatened by her. I started to think that it was either me or her, that if one of us didn’t go, we would both fail, but really the world was wide enough for us both all along. Now it just feels… empty.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

Killian manages a sad smile. “It’s not my story to tell.”

**(emma)**

_ ( _ I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory _.) _

_ It’s familiar… the feeling Emma has right now. She can feel something soft and damp beneath her back, and a pain so heavy it’s like it’s not there at all. A laugh bubbles up in her chest, but she’s not sure if it makes it out into the world or if it’s just in her head. _

_ No one laughs with her, so it must not be real. _

_ But then there’s a laugh. Kind of a laugh anyways, and Emma sits up to find that she’s not in Neverland. Not  _ really _ , anyway. She looks forward and she sees Killian standing, a look of horror on his face, arm outstretched, not like he’s casting magic, but rather trying to reign it back in. _

_ “Oh,” Emma says. She glances down at her singed red leather jacket, placing her hand over her heart only to realize that she can only feel a soft occasional thrum, nothing heavy and nothing set, and that’s when she turns around.  _

_ Behind her is blank. There’s nothing particularly distinctive about the space, besides a light that Emma can’t help but scoff at. How  _ stereotypical _. _

_ But the laugh sounds again, and she realizes that it’s not just a  _ laugh _ , it’s accompanied by a whole smile coming from Henry.  _ Henry _. He isn’t looking at her, but he’s there, and Emma lets out a single sob. He’s standing there talking to Neal of all people, and they look like they could be old friends. Next to them is Mary Margaret, who looks up and meets Emma’s gaze with a soft smile and a single nod. _

_ The blonde sobs again before letting herself fall back into the soil. _

_ She can’t believe it’s come to this. _

_ Killian was her first friend here. He was someone who understood her when no one else did, and the one that could never understand where she was coming from. He was the one that led her to her wife, the one that helped her make it along and along, but also the one with the stupidest advice. He was the one that never pushed until he was suddenly shoving her down and she had to shove back. He became her enemy, and here they are.  _

_ Here Emma is.  _

_ Dying, never to rise up again. _

_ And there Killian is. _

_ Eyes full of regret. _

_ Emma wonders what he’d been thinking. _

_ Whose legacy will leave a longer impression? _

_ What will their stories look like? _

_ The thought lasts a fleeting moment before Emma’s mind drifts back to Regina. She wishes she were here so she could kiss her one last time, sure that True Love’s Kiss could save her, but she doesn’t know where Emma is or that she’s never going to see her again. _

_ Not until---- _

It’s like she blinks.

Time here is weird, and she would say it doesn’t take her long to find that out, but she isn’t sure using that phrasing would even be accurate. Nothing here seems to take long, but at the same time, it seems to go on forever, in the kind of way you never want something wonderful to end. She learns that eventually, but for now--

For now, this new realm is going to take her a while to adjust to, she’s pretty sure about that.

Neverland was there until it wasn’t. Then Storybrooke was there until it wasn’t. Then Regina was next to her until she wasn’t. Then Emma was blinking again until she’s looking at a place she never thought she would see again.

Only not exactly.

Cleo is the first person she sees, and Emma does a double take as the closest person Emma had to a mother growing up smiles at her, a hand resting on her shoulder. “Welcome home,” she says.

“What?” Emma frowns as she glances around at this realm. She doesn’t remember coming through a portal to get here, and she doesn’t know why she would. This place is so similar to what she remembers of the Land of Untold Stories, only brighter, cleaner, less chaotic, and it doesn’t feel Emma with a sense of dread. Strangely enough, she feels at peace. “Where am I?”

Cleo laughs once. “It’s weird isn’t it,” she says instead of supplying an answer. Emma wants to ask again, but it doesn’t feel as urgent as it should. As Cleo leaves her to figure things out, Emma relaxes, turning to walk around.

She learns that this realm is part of another dimension, a reality that comes  _ after _ .

Underbrooke used to be within this dimension, but in the same way that Storybrooke had gained its freedom from the Enchanted Forest, Underbrooke had left this dimension, somehow becoming a middleground for Hades to dictate people’s fates in.

A lot of people stay in the Underworld, held captive by grudges and anger, but otherwise, there are two realms people find themselves in.

There’s Elysium and Asphodel.

There’s the one Emma is standing in now, and there’s the one Emma left for Storybrooke.

It’s a greater shock than making it to Storybrooke to begin with, a greater shock than Rumpelstiltskin’s insane grip on power, a greater shock than the cause of Mary Margaret’s resignation, than losing Henry, than being murdered by Killian, and once she figures it out her only question is  _ why _ ?

It’s Mary Margaret who tells her, appearing next to her with a proud smile on her face. “Your story, Emma.”

“What about it?” the blonde asks, more than a little lost.

“It’s being told. You made a difference.”

Emma frowns, shaking her head, “But Killian killed me. Nothing went like it was supposed to. I ruined my career, I lost my son, and I never even got the chance to propose to Regina again. If something happens to her… Hope and Rhys will be alone. And Henry…” Emma trails off, swallowing hard. “If I’m here because of something I did right, I don’t deserve to be here. I let my family down. I let my son down. I…”

She trails off, breaking into tears. Mary Margaret pulls her into a hug, letting Emma unload her tears. It goes on for a few moments before someone speaks from beside them.

“Emma?”

The blonde immediately stops crying, breaking away from Mary Margaret, turning towards the woman who had just spoken, the last person she wants to see if this truly is some kind of post-death reality.

“Regina? What are you doing here? How--” She shakes her head, the tears coming back. “Please don’t tell me you--”

“Old age,” Regina says with a laugh. “I know I don’t look it right now,” she says with a laugh, gesturing at herself before moving closer to Emma, taking the blonde’s hands in her own. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Emma says, moving her arms to rest on Regina’s hips as the brunette drapes her own over her shoulders, nuzzling into blonde hair as they hug. “I don’t understand,” she admits.

“Time is what you make it here,” Mary Margaret explains. “It’s not always something that makes sense, but…” she trails off, unable to provide anymore logical thought on the topic. “I’ll let you two spend some time together.” She smiles at them as she walks off, taking David’s hand before they walk together down the street.

Emma leans back to meet Regina’s gaze, returning her smile. “What?” she asks after a moment.

“You said you were going to propose again?”

The blonde laughs, “I wanted to, yeah. But I wanted you to be ready.”

“I’m ready now,” she says as she brings Emma’s lips to hers for a slow kiss. “We can get married here, right?”

“I don’t see why not,” Emma grins. She feels whole and warm once again, and it’s hard to believe that this is actually happening, when it feels like only moments ago she was watching Killian blast magic at her. “What happened?” she finally asks and Regina takes her hand as they start to walk. 

There’s a park near them, and even though Emma can hardly recall this realm, she seems to know where to take them as she leads them to a bench, the view ahead of them breathtaking, with the sun setting over the city.

“Killian shot you,” Regina starts. “He hated himself for it. I eventually told him that I forgave him, but I don’t think he forgave himself.” Emma nodded, wondering if he’s trapped in Underbrooke, based on the grudge he has with himself. She wonders if he would be able to leave if Emma could tell him that she’s not even holding a grudge.

“What about you?” Emma asks. “After it happened…”

Regina laughs humorlessly, just a breath from her nose and she shakes her head. “I was a mess, Emma. For months, all I could do was cry. Roni came back from Hyperion Heights and stayed with me. Cooking food, cleaning the house, looking after the kids.”

“But Cora--”

“Was mayor, yes,” Regina laughs. “Roni is an amazing sister. All of them are, you know.” Regina’s expression shifts just slightly, her eyes widening a little before she asks, “Have you seen them here?”

Emma’s expression is mostly blank. It’s odd, because she knows the answer even if she isn’t sure how she would. “Yes, they’re around here somewhere, but Regina, I feel like I just got here myself. At the same time though, I know this place. It’s like I’ve been here for years.”

Regina laughs, “It’s been more than fifty according to Storybrooke time, if you can believe it.”

Emma’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“Yes, I made it to one hundred, Emma. It looks like I got all my time and yours.”

“That’s amazing,” Emma breathes. 

“You haven’t even heard the best parts,” Regina starts, her eyes lighting up as she launches into the details of her time without Emma. She never remarried, but when she made it out of her mourning stage, she jumped right in, picking up where Emma left off, becoming more involved. She ran for mayor at the next term against Cora and won.

She helped establish Storybrooke’s most secure political system, grew the education department, and created better opportunities for people fighting their way to Storybrooke to start a better life and another system for orphaned children, making sure each of them were loved and cared for. Emma beams with pride as she watches Regina tell her own story animatedly to Emma, explaining how she took everything the blonde wrote and planned for and put it into effect. She used Emma’s story to inspire people and make Storybrooke into a place Emma would be proud of.

She tells Emma how Hope and Rhys grew up, and the people they became. “You would have been so proud of them, Emma.”

“I already am,” the blonde smiles back as she leans forward to kiss Regina again. “I’m proud of you too.” She feels the brunette’s lips tilt up against hers, and Emma’s heart skips a beat as she moves her mouth against Regina’s, only pulling back when she tastes tears. “Regina?”

The other woman bites her lip nervously, looking down before asking in a soft voice. “Henry’s here too, isn’t he?”

Emma’s quiet for a moment. If she thinks about the time she’s been here too much, it makes her head hurt, and Regina seems to take her hesitation as a no. But as if on cue, there’s suddenly a surprised noise from behind them.

“Moms!”

Regina sobs as she turns around, and Emma follows her lead as they both stand up, running towards Henry and pulling him into a hug, the three of them holding each other tightly. Henry’s young, around ten, and he pulls back to greet them with a boyish smile.

“Mom, you’re here,” he says, his expression telling enough to know he understands what that means, but he’s happy to see her nonetheless. 

“Mi hijo,” Regina says, slow tears trekking down her face as she rests her palm against his cheek. “I’ve missed you. I hope you haven’t been giving your mom too much trouble.”

Henry laughs. “You know me, Mom.”

Emma rolls her eyes with a happy laugh as she tousles Henry’s hair. “Go have fun kid. Be back in time for dinner though, okay?”

“You got it, Ma.”

They smile as they watch him run off, dribbling a soccer ball between his feet. Emma turns to Regina as she takes her hand again, silently walking back through the park. Everything settles within Emma, all the time she’s spent here, waiting patiently for Regina’s arrival. She’s been at peace the whole time, she knows, but now that the love of her life is by her side once again, everything feels even more level, more right. 

This is enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Writers and artists spent months creating the fics and art you enjoy - it would mean the world to them if you commented to tell them what you liked! The SQSupernova team is also sponsoring a contest for commenters, and you can find out more [here](http://sqsupernova.tumblr.com/post/177527168129/the-swan-queen-supernova-comments-contest-returns).


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